Turkish rebar market slows down further amid turmoil in export markets

The ongoing political turmoil in the Middle East as well as the outbreak of war in Libya have caused trade activity to nearly grind to a halt in these regions, which are key export markets for Turkish rebar mills. In addition, with the further spread of the political upheaval to other countries in the region, the regional rebar trade has contracted further.
 
This week, end-users' rebar booking activity has been slower than expected. During the current week, the depreciation of the US dollar has caused local rebar prices in Turkey to regress, leading to a further slowdown in rebar transactions. Towards the end of the current week, domestic rebar prices in Turkey have settled at TRY 1,017-1,051/mt + VAT. Nevertheless, since there is not any oversupply in the market, prices are not expected to drop further. Next week, rebar transactions are foreseen to increase since VAT repayments are made in the last week of the month. However, the future trend in the Turkish domestic market is still shrouded in uncertainty.
 
This week, Turkish mills' rebar export offers have been standing at $670-675/mt FOB on actual weight basis, while some producers who previously concluded transactions and those who are carrying out maintenance works have not given so many offers.
 
Turkish mills' rebar offers to the US market have been at $695/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis this week. On the other hand, following the slowdown in Iraqi rebar transactions, rebar sales from Turkey's Iskenderun region have also decreased in number. This week, rebar offers given to the Iraqi market by Turkish rolling mills and steel producers have been at $665-670/mt ex-works.
 
This week, Turkish mills have not been active in the scrap market, making it difficult to predict the price trend of the market in question. Next week, the Turkish rebar market is expected to move in line with the developments in Turkey's export markets.