Turkish rebar producers have reduced their export offers by $5/mt on the upper end week on week to $470-480/mt FBO on actual weight basis in order to be able to meet buyers’ firm bids. International buyers’ firm bids for Turkish rebar are currently in the range of $455-465/mt FOB on actual weight basis. SteelOrbis has been informed that Turkish steelmakers are reducing their prices on the lower end by a further $5/mt for large volumes.
Turkish suppliers continues to make rebar sales to markets such as Yemen and Israel, where they traditionally conclude deals for small tonnages, while they are still receiving price inquiries from the Far East for rebar. On the other hand, cancellations and the return of billet cargoes from Egypt due to the Egyptian government’ decision to impose safeguard duty on billet imports have caused a surplus for CIS-based and Turkish billet mills. While global billet prices have moved down particularly due to the competition between Iranian and CIS-based suppliers, foreign buyers now expect Turkish rebar export quotations to fall.
Despite the European Union’s additional quota of 19,704 mt opened on May 2, this quota is expected to be exhausted immediately, as in the previous similar instances, considering the surplus resulting from the slowdown in the local Turkish rebar market and the lack of Turkish rebar sales to the US market against the backdrop of the Section 232 duty.