In the past week, the Turkish rebar market has finally witnessed its long-awaited price increases.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in the middle of this week Turkish long steel producer Kardemir opened its domestic rebar sales at the price level of TRY 1,059/mt ($671/mt) + VAT and sold approximately 12,000-13,000 mt. In the meantime, while local producers' rebar prices were standing in the price range of TRY 1,059-1,093/mt ($671-693/mt) + VAT, depending on the region, local traders' rebar sales prices settled at TRY 1,038-1,050/mt ($658-665/mt) + VAT toward the end of the current week.
In this week's Turkish rebar market, end-users have once again delayed their high-volume rebar purchases. However, the general market anticipation suggests that rebar producers will further increase their prices next week.
SteelOrbis had learned that early this week Turkish mills' rebar export offers were standing at $655-660/mt FOB. However, following the conclusion of the latest rebar transactions, mainstream export offer levels have increased to $665-670/mt FOB. Meanwhile, towards the end of the week, some producers have lifted their export offers up to the level of $680/mt FOB.
Due to the ongoing political turmoil in the Middle East, market activity in the region - one of Turkey's key export markets - has been limited. It is reported that the latest rebar export offer of Turkish mills to Dubai have been at $660/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis, and some transactions have been concluded at this price level, as SteelOrbis has learned. On the other hand, while Turkish mills' rebar export offers to Yemen have been at $670-680/mt CFR, it is observed that the price idea of Yemeni buyers has remained below this level. Nevertheless, some rebar transactions to the Yemeni market from Turkey have been concluded at $670-675/mt CFR.
This week, it is reported that Turkish rebar producers have received some demand from Latin America, with one Turkish producer selling 27,000 mt of rebar to Peru.
On the other hand, Turkish mills have also concluded some rebar transactions to Singapore and Hong Kong. This week, the rebar sales prices of Turkish mills for Singapore have been at $675-680/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis, remaining unchanged as compared to last week. Turkish mills are expected to see some demand from markets in the Far East next week.
With the support from potential export markets that are expected to buy Turkish origin rebar for March and also with support from their domestic demand, it is widely predicted that the Turkish mills will be able to keep their prices firm. On the other hand, the stable rebar price trend that has been observed in recent weeks despite low demand will also help to boost market confidence.
$1 = TRY1.578