After a strong start to the current week, rebar prices in the Turkish market which stood at TRY 856/mt ($617/mt) in the beginning of the week subsequently dropped due to the weakening of the US dollar. Although Turkish long steel producer Kardemir opened its rebar sales at a price of TRY 855/mt ($616/mt), it was unable to attract market demand. Towards the end of the week, rebar prices in Turkey have declined to TRY 835-848/mt ($602-611/mt), depending on the region. Despite the expectation of increased activity ahead of the Feast of Sacrifice holiday, end-user demand has so far not shown any significant improvement. In the Turkish rebar market, buyers have preferred to make small bookings to satisfy their urgent needs, instead of concluding high-volume transactions.
Meanwhile, the weakening of the US dollar against the Turkish lira has had a negative impact on end-user confidence. Next week, end-users are expected to determine their approach to new purchases depending on movements in the dollar-lira exchange rate. Traders' high inventory levels prevent any possible significant softening in rebar prices. Besides, producers planning to conduct maintenance work during the holiday are not expected to reduce their prices by any significant margin.
While Turkish producers' rebar export offers have remained in the price range of $590-605/mt FOB this week, these producers' key markets were Iraq, Iran and Dubai. Turkish mills' rebar export offers to Singapore stood at $625/mt CFR, while their offers to Central America were at $625-630/mt CFR, both on theoretical weight basis. In the Saudi Arabian market, demand for steel billet was stronger as compared to demand for rebar. Turkish rebar offers to this market stood at $610/mt CFR on actual weight basis; however, buyers' expectations remain at $600/mt CFR and lower. This week, buyers from Dubai made rebar inquiries to the Turkish market, and Turkish mills' offers in general stood in the price range of $610-615/mt CFR. Meanwhile, Turkish mills' rebar offers to the Libyan market remained at $620-625/mt CFR.
In the Egyptian rebar market, Beshay Steel has raised its rebar prices by EGP 50/mt ($8.75/mt) to EGP 3,800/mt ($665/mt). However, Egypt's largest rebar producer EZZ Steel has kept its rebar prices unchanged for November and this move has narrowed the difference between domestic rebar prices and Turkish offers, reducing Turkish mills' chances of concluding transactions to the Egyptian market.
This week, scrap offers in the international markets have increased, as a result of Turkish producers' ongoing scrap booking activities. In the meantime, billet offers and sales prices continue to trend at high levels, thereby narrowing the gap with finished steel prices. As a result of these factors, Turkish mills are expected to keep their rebar prices firm, despite the approach of the Feast of Sacrifice holiday in the Middle East.