Turkish rebar producers are attempting to raise their longs export prices amid relatively positive sentiment in the import scrap segment and on the demand side. Some of the mills have succeeded in concluding large deals to Asia, Europe and the US, thus lowering the pressure on them to conclude sales. In the domestic rebar market, some sizeable purchases have also been seen, again supporting the general market mood.
Currently, ex-Turkey rebar prices are available at $650/mt for July-early August shipments, versus $620-625/mt at the beginning of this week. A few mills are testing $670/mt FOB amid their ongoing rebar export bookings. Prior to the price increase, a 40,000 mt rebar sale was rumored to Singapore at $650/mt CFR on theoretical weight or around $620/mt FOB base. In addition, two rebar deals to the US, for 30,000 mt and 40,000 mt, have been discussed in the market as have been done at $640/mt FOB.
In addition, according to sources, around 25,000 mt of rebar were traded to Albania at around $620/mt FOB due to the lack of supply in the country. A rebar lot of 3,000 mt was traded to Costa Rica at $650/mt FOB for July shipment, at the beginning of this week.
In the local Turkish market, Icdas has raised its rebar price by $20/mt to $650/mt ex-works today. Most mills’ current rebar prices are at $640-650/mt ex-works in the Marmara and Izmir regions. Sources report that over the past few days sizeable rebar volumes were sold in the domestic market at $620-650/mt ex-works. In particular, around 40,000 mt have been traded in the Iskenderun region, while in the Marmara and Izmir regions around 14,000 mt and 16,000 mt have been sold, respectively.
Market players believe the cautiously optimistic scrap segment and livelier export activity have supported local demand. However, a lot of sources claim these purchases may be the consequence of the ongoing tax investigation in Turkey’s steel sector. Some large rebar trading companies are being checked by the government and therefore all the parties, which were working them, including mills, smaller traders and end-users, are also involved in the case. “Large already-paid volumes of rebar will not be delivered to buyers. So, what I see now is that some of them are panicking and buying from safe sources, less risky ones. But at the end of the day, the question is if they have money to pay for the new volumes since the reimbursement of the money they spent earlier will certainly take a while and will not be easy,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
In the wire rod segment, Turkish export prices for July-early August shipments have moved up by $15/mt to $660/mt in the last couple of days. Sources report an inquiry for 20,000 mt of wire rod has been received from West Africa, but the details have not been confirmed by the time of publication.