Long steel export prices from Turkey have continued to fall this week as domestic mills still lack support from large international customers, specifically from Latin America and Asia. In addition, import scrap prices have declined further in the most recent deals, while the freight rates for distant steel shipments have remained relatively high. As a result, while the export markets are silent, most Turkish mills have been focusing on domestic sales where they are forced to trade at rather aggressive prices.
Turkey’s rebar export prices have recently settled at $680-690/mt FOB for October shipments, down $15-20/mt over the past week. Some limited volumes are still available for late September shipments. No fresh rebar sales have been heard recently.
In the local Turkish market, the official general rebar price range is at $675-680/mt ex-works, versus $680-710/mt ex-works seen last week. Kardemir sold around 44,000 mt of rebar at $667/mt ex-works on August 18. Moreover, one Izmir-based mill sold around 40,000 mt of rebar at $665/mt ex-works on the same day. In the Marmara region, deals have been reported at $665-670/mt ex-works as of today. Some traders believe that rebar prices are close to bottom levels: however, the negative sentiment in the scrap sector and the silence on the export side prevent them from piling up stocks.
In the wire rod segment, ex-Turkey wire rod export prices are available at $800/mt FOB, down by $10/mt week on week, mainly for October shipments.