Turkish rebar producers remain under the pressure from sluggish international demand, which has even weakened further ahead of the upcoming holidays in the US and the EU. As a result, trading activity is expected to slow down in the short term and it seems pessimistic for recovery on the demand side until the end of the current year. In addition, rumors are circulated in terms of relatively more active local rebar sales in Turkey, but the tonnage seems not sufficient to compensate for missing rebar export sales.
Currently, ex-Turkey rebar offers are available at $580-590/mt FOB for December shipments, down by $10/mt over the past week. Even slightly below $580/mt FOB is on the table for possible rebar sales, particularly to the Balkan region, SteelOrbis has heard. A few small-tonnage rebar deals are rumored to have been done to the Balkans at $575-580/mt FOB this week, but the information has not been confirmed by the time of publication. "Although the next EU quota round will begin on January 1, inquiries under negotiation are limited to tonnages such as 2,000-3,000 mt of rebar," a source commented.
In the Turkish domestic rebar market, the official rebar price varies at $600-610/mt ex-works, including offers from Icdas A.S., down by $5/mt on the higher end over the past week. According to sources, some tonnages were traded at TRY 25,000/mt (around $605/mt) ex-works both in the Iskenderun and Marmara regions earlier this week. However, this rebar price seems quite high under current rebar market conditions. In addition, an Iskenderun-based mill has also issued its official rebar price at TRY 25,350/mt ($615/mt) ex-works, according to today’s exchange rate of $1 = TRY 34.36.
In the wire rod segment, most Turkish mills are offering at $600-610/mt FOB for December shipment, also down $10/mt over the past week. In addition, workable Turkish domestic wire rod prices vary at $605-620/mt ex-works, down $7.5/mt on average over the same period.
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