Turkish merchant bar export prices fall sharply           

Over the past week, Turkish official merchant bar export prices have fallen by $30/mt to $770-790/mt FOB for late March-April shipment, amid the negative sentiment in the billet segment and sluggish international demand. The SteelOrbis Turkish billet import CFR-based daily reference price is standing at $630-660/mt, falling by $10-15/mt over the past week. 

A few merchant bar re-rollers are applying aggressive pricing policies to generate sales ahead of Ramadan and are quoting slightly lower levels for serious buyers depending on the region and product, SteelOrbis has heard. " The Turkish merchant bar export segment is weak, while Turkish domestic special grade merchant bar sales are relatively better," one source mentioned. "Inquiries are on the table from North Africa and Latin America, while the biggest challenge is that Turkish merchant bar export prices are mostly too expensive, and even European merchant bar re-rollers are willing to cover our regular export destinations" another source said. Sources report a few ex-Spain merchant bar prices are available at €750/mt ($800/mt) CFR North Africa, while the average freight from Turkey to North Africa is around $50/mt, which makes it difficult to compete.

Turkish merchant bar export prices are currently at the following levels: 

All prices are on FOB basis for late March-April shipments.