The largest steel producer and market leader in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirates Steel Arkan (ESA), has released its local offers for February production, raising its pricing as anticipated in response to the region's consistently improving demand.
The supplier’s new price has been set for 10-32mm for February production at $668/mt (AED 2,454/mt) CPT Dubai for 90-day LC payment. As a result, the new price is higher by AED 73/mt ($20/mt) compared to the price for January output. Meanwhile, the company's premiums for 18-40 mm and 8 mm rebar have stayed stable from last month, at $20/mt (AED 73.5/mt) and $25/mt (AED 91.8/mt), respectively.
The other local rebar producers in the UAE are anticipated to disclose their pricing later, although they generally remain in line with ESA’s levels. For the time being, only Arabian Gulf Steel Industries has stated its aim to offer the same pricing level as ESA.
Improving demand in previous months and positive expectations for February are considered to be the main reasons for the rebar price uptrend. Some sources expect consumption to reach 190,000-200,000 mt and up to 225,000 mt of rebar this month with a further moderate increase in February.
“The demand is better, but it not yet clear if it is a seasonal effect or if consumption will really be better this year,” a UAE-based producer said.
Aside from growing demand in the UAE, SteelOrbis has learned that ESA is presently not supplying to Saudi Arabia owing to a market downturn in the country.
The increase seen in the rebar sector in the UAE is expected to have a positive impact on billet prices in the region. The latest offers from Iran were standing at $540-550/mt CFR or around $550-560/mt CPT, while the local billet offers in the UAE were reported at $560/mt ex-works. No offers from Oman have been heard recently.