Turkish long steel mills are going through difficult times due to the silence in the export segment and also with international buyers exerting pressure for further discounts due to North African suppliers’ aggressive export pricing strategies. In the Turkish domestic market, rebar prices have been falling gradually due to sluggish demand and the unclear financial situation in the country. However, both price levels and demand locally are still higher compared to the export segment.
Currently, ex-Turkey rebar offers are standing at $600-620/mt FOB, down by $10/mt on the lower end week on week, for November-early December shipments, while the higher end seems difficult to achieve under the current market conditions. In addition, sources report that negotiations are underway with Bulgaria, while current Turkish export prices are not quite workable so far when ex-Egypt rebar offers are reported at around $575/mt FOB. Sources had expected Turkish export offers to take longer to decrease, but they decreased earlier than expected. Meanwhile, rebar export offers from Algeria are at $585/mt FOB.
The workable rebar prices in the Izmir and Marmara regions are at $620-630/mt ex-works, versus $625-650/mt ex-works last week, including offers from Icdas A.S. In addition, an Iskenderun-based mill has also issued its official rebar price, at TRY 26,000/mt or around $632/mt, ex-works, at an exchange rate of $1 = TRY 34.27 today, October 23. Integrated steelmaker Kardemir announced its rebar price at TRY 21,455/mt ($627/mt) ex-works, excluding VAT, earlier today and has succeeded in selling around 10,000 mt so far, SteelOrbis has heard, which is less than the usual tonnage.
In the wire rod segment, most Turkish mills are offering at $610-620/mt FOB, versus $630/mt FOB for November-early December shipment seen earlier. In addition, the workable Turkish domestic wire rod prices vary at $620-640/mt ex-works, down by $5/mt over the same period.
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