In this week's Turkish domestic wire rod market, local prices have risen ahead of Ramadan. Following the price increases observed for rebar early this week due to the supply shortages for some smaller sizes, this rising trend has also spilled over into wire rod prices. Accordingly, in the Turkish domestic market wire rod sales prices, which were at $740-755/mt + VAT, have increased to $759-780/mt + VAT this week , when sales prices in Turkey's Iskenderun region are excluded.
However, since Turkish buyers' price idea was already lower than sales prices before the latest increases, it can be said that these buyers have been caught off guard. Thus, buyers, who had been receiving offers significantly below actual sales prices for a while, are unlikely to go to the market for new bookings in the short term.
As for Turkey's wire rod exports, since the holiday season in southern Europe in August is approaching, there is limited time for Turkish wire rod suppliers to conclude sales to this market. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, construction projects have slowed down due to hot weather and, also given the approach of Ramadan, demand is now slower. Early this week, Turkish drawing quality wire rod export offers to Dubai were standing at $730-735/mt FOB. However, towards the middle of the week these offers rose to $745-750/mt FOB. In line with today's price increases in the Turkish domestic market, export offers are expected to see some further increase.
In the southern European market, ex-Italy offers given ahead of the summer holiday for mesh quality wire rod are still at €515-520/mt ($737-744/mt) FOB, while offers for drawing quality wire rod are standing at €525-530/mt ($751-758/mt) FOB, SteelOrbis has been informed.
In Vietnam, buyers are currently adopting a wait-and-see stance amid slack demand. Early this week, Turkish low carbon wire rod offers to Sri Lanka were at $770-780/mt CFR for August shipments. However, it is heard that buyers in Sri Lanka are currently showing reluctance towards these offers.
When Turkey's wire rod export volume for June this year is compared with the data for June 2010, it is observed that the share of the wire rod export volume to Middle Eastern markets of the overall total has declined, in favor of East African and Latin American markets. In the meantime, it is also interesting to note that the US is no longer among Turkey's top 12 wire rod markets, and that Turkey's wire rod exports to Brazil are very low. The active wire rod demand observed in Lebanon last month has prevailed also this week, as SteelOrbis has learned from market sources.
Country | Volume (mt) | Change (%) | |
June 2010 | June 2011 | ||
Kenya | 4,821 | 11,987 | 148.63 |
Colombia | 0 | 9,509 | 100.00 |
6,755 | 9,060 | 34.12 | |
Tunisia | 0 | 9,120 | 100.00 |
Peru | 0 | 7,000 | 100.00 |
Israel | 1,600 | 5,720 | 257.50 |
Lebanon | 0 | 3,675 | 100.00 |
Spain | 3,104 | 2,869 | -7.59 |
0 | 2,902 | 100.00 | |
Malaysia | 0 | 2,251 | 100.00 |
Tanzania | 213 | 1,930 | 807.97 |
Brazil | 5,523 | 1,843 | -66.62 |
Total wire rod exports | 135,043 | 76,169 | - 43.60 |
Source: Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters' Association (IMMIB)