The Turkish longs market seems quiet ahead of the Eid holiday both for exports and domestic sales. A few mills are expected either to work at reduced production capacity utilization or to carry out maintenance works during the Eid holiday. European buyers have also been operating at a slow pace due to the Easter holiday. As a result, Turkish longs export pricing and business activity may gain clarity closer to mid-April.
Currently, most Turkish mills are aiming to keep their official rebar export prices stable as the general sentiment on the international demand side is negative, while they also want to observe the import scrap and billet price trends after the holiday. Although official rebar prices are firm, additional discounts are so far available to serious buyers. Ex-Turkey rebar prices still vary at $590-600/mt FOB for April shipment, stable from a week earlier.
In the local Turkish rebar market, most Marmara and Izmir region-based mills are still offering rebar at $600-625/mt ex-works. Most buyers are postponing new purchases, watching financial and economic developments after the recent local elections.
In the wire rod segment, export offer levels have remained unchanged over the past week at $600-610/mt FOB for April shipment. “Around 90,000 mt of wire rod has already been imported within the fresh EU quota for Turkish material, which started on April 1,” one source commented. Turkish domestic wire rod prices are also stable at $610-645/mt ex-works, while the higher end still difficult to achieve under the current market conditions.
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