While the export market generally remains weak for long products and the pressure from the import billet and scrap segments has intensified lately, Turkish mills have been forced to cut their longs export prices further. Domestically, the situation is also not great in terms of consumption and business activity, while financial issues in the country continue to weigh on operations.
Currently, ex-Turkey rebar offers are available at $565-570/mt FOB for August shipments, down $10/mt from earlier this week. A 10,000-15,000 mt rebar sale has been reported at around $565/mt FOB to Israel this week, though it has not been fully confirmed by the time of publication. In addition, another 4,000-5,000 mt rebar batch has been traded to Yemen at $595/mt FOB on actual weight basis for August shipment, SteelOrbis has learned. Although it seems a bit high under the current market conditions, the buyer may have urgently needed to purchase.
In the Turkish domestic rebar market, the general rebar price range varies at $575-590/mt ex-works, versus $590-600/mt ex-works earlier this week. A small tonnage of rebar has been traded in the Izmir region at $565/mt ex-works by mid-week. The Turkish Central Bank increased its interest rate from 15 percent to 17.5 percent on July 20. Most market players are monitoring the import scrap and billet prices and are aiming to restock once rebar prices hit bottom.
In the wire rod segment, a few mills are offering wire rod for export at $580/mt FOB for August shipments, down $10/mt over the same period. In the local market, the general price range varies at $595-640/mt ex-works. However, the higher end is not considered workable.