Turkish mills seem to be in waiting mode as most international buyers are expected to be back from holiday early next week. In addition, demand in the local longs market is also weak amid the ongoing currency fluctuations, although industrial natural gas prices have remained unchanged over the past month. A few mills have closed their long product sales this week in order to be on the safe side. Moreover, following the preliminary results of the safeguard measure investigation on alloyed and non-alloyed wire rod imports, a temporary safeguard measure of $175/mt has been introduced for wire rod imports for 200 days. It is expected to lead to a hike in domestic wire rod prices. However, most buyers are monitoring the import scrap and billet price trend before restocking.
Currently, ex-Turkey rebar prices are available at $600/mt FOB, versus $590-600/mt FOB for February shipment a week ago. Sources report $585-590/mt FOB may be considered only for serious buyers, depending on the region and quantity. In addition, a few mills are testing $620/mt FOB, which seems a bit difficult to achieve under the current market conditions. No fresh rebar sale has heard for now. In the Turkish domestic rebar market, most mills in the Marmara and Izmir regions are offering at $600-620/mt ex-works, up by $10/mt on the lower end. Most local buyers are taking their time before concluding new purchases.
In the wire rod segment, offers vary at $620/mt FOB for February shipment, versus $610-620/mt FOB last week. Sources report that there is still room for discounts but only for serious buyers. In the local Turkish wire rod market, the general price is at $615-650/mt ex-works, up by $10/mt over the same period. Kardemir's price for 6-27 mm wire rod of SAE 1008-1010 grade is stable at $635/mt ex-works.
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