Turkish longs producers seem to be going through a relatively quiet period following their decent sales of long steel volumes in the second half of April in the export segment, while the local Turkish rebar market also seems quiet amid the ongoing currency fluctuations. Local trading is expected to be livelier after the Feast of Sacrifice holiday (begins Friday, June 6).
Currently, ex-Turkey rebar offers still vary at $540-550/mt FOB for late May shipment, stable week on week. According to sources, below $540/mt FOB does not seem workable under the current market conditions. Most international buyers are in wait-and-see mode waiting for the next EU rebar quota round which will begin on July 1.
In the Turkish domestic rebar market, official offers have settled at $540-560/mt ex-works, also unchanged week on week depending on the region. In the Izmir and Marmara regions, the workable levels are at $540-550/mt ex-works, up by $10/mt on the lower end from a week ago. In addition, two Iskenderun-based mills have offered their rebar prices at around $557-560/mt ex-works, for an extended delivery period. According to sources, the latest workable rebar price in this region stands at around $548-552/mt ex-works. It is worth mentioning that Kardemir succeeded in selling around 34,000 mt of rebar at $544/mt ex-works today, which may be taken as a positive sign on the demand side.
In the wire rod segment, most Turkish mills have also kept their offers stable, at $550-560/mt FOB, for late May shipment. In addition, workable Turkish domestic wire rod prices vary at $545-565/mt ex-works, versus $540-570/mt ex-works last week.