Having increased by $5/mt on average last week, Turkish steel mills’ rebar export quotations have declined by same margin this week, regressing to $540-550/mt FOB on actual weight basis. The reason for the unstable trend of last week’s prices is stated as the weakness of demand for Turkish rebar in target markets and the downward movement of import scrap prices in Turkey.
Following the European Commission’s decision to impose provisional safeguard measures in the form of an out-of-quota tariff, European buyers resumed their postponed rebar purchases and Turkish mills started to make sales to the region. Although demand for Turkish rebar in Europe has been weak in general due to the summer holidays, Turkish mills concluded rebar deals to Germany and the Netherlands at $540-545/mt FOB on actual weight basis. Meanwhile, buyers in some European countries are cautious about making fresh bookings due to uncertainties regarding implementation of EU trade measures at customs and the 25 percent duty which will be added to deal prices if quotas are exhausted.
Meanwhile, a Turkish producer has concluded a deal to Lebanon for 3,000 mt of rebar at $550/mt CFR on actual weight basis. Turkish producers have also continued to receive demand from other export markets such as Yemen, Israel and South America as their price offers have gained acceptance, though concluded deals were rare.
As for the US market, demand for Turkish steel has remained slack and has recorded no recovery this week. Rebar demand in the US, where Turkish mills have failed to make sales since the first week of July, is generally weak due to seasonal factors and the fact that inventories of previously booked import rebar at ports are at sufficient levels. Another reason for the slackness of demand for Turkish rebar in the US is the cautious stance of US-based buyers resulting the US Congress statement that it supports the suits filed for rolling back the Section 232 tariffs.