Ex-Turkey longs prices have skyrocketed over the past week, reflecting the same trend seen in most of the steel segments as a result of the impact of the war in Ukraine on the global market. Even though the absence of Ukraine and Russia from rebar and wire rod exports will hardly lead to critical supply shortages and the demand for ex-Turkey longs has improved only to a certain extent, the rapid price rise in billet and scrap prices in Turkey has boosted local mills’ costs and resulted in higher prices for longs.
Having increased their rebar prices from $800/mt FOB to $890-900/mt FOB over the past week, most Turkish mills have left the market on Friday, March 4. Some of them voiced rebar offers at $930/mt FOB before they closed their sales. “They are expecting $650/mt CFR for scrap next week and billet is even really hard to estimate,” a trader told SteelOrbis. Turkey is mainly selling for April and May shipments, but no fresh deals have been reported.
In the local Turkish rebar market, a few suppliers have closed their rebar sales until the beginning of next week. A few mills were offering rebar in the Izmir and Marmara regions at $880-890/mt ex-works earlier today, and then raised their rebar prices by $10/mt to $890-900/mt ex-works. A sale of around 25,000 mt of rebar was rumored at $850-860/mt ex-works in the Izmir region yesterday, but it has not been confirmed by the time of publication.
In the wire rod segment, most Turkish mills have withdrawn their wire rod export prices. According to sources, a few wire rod export prices at $1,000-1,020/mt FOB are on the table for May shipment. No fresh wire rod deal has been heard for now.