On October 24, the largest steel producer and market leader in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirates Steel Industries (ESI), issued its rebar price for November production, increasing it by AED 85/mt ($23/mt) compared to its official offers voiced in the previous month. While the demand in the region has remained far from satisfactory, local rebar suppliers have attempted to gain support from the uptrend in the global raw materials market. Meanwhile, some rebar producers have opted to focus on alternative destinations.
Accordingly, ESI has voiced its rebar price for November production at $678/mt (AED 2,490/mt) ex-works. According to market insiders, it is possible to obtain discounts of AED 70-80/mt during negotiations. Meanwhile, Union Iron & Steel has, as is traditional, announced its offers at the same level as ESI’s prices, i.e., at $678/mt (AED 2,490/mt) ex-works. “We are busy with our export markets at much better prices,” a representative of UAE-based rebar mill Conares, commented.
In the meantime, local retailers have also been considering testing the market with new higher prices. Specifically, a major UAE-based trader has voiced AED2,525-2,575/mt ($688-701/mt) ex-warehouse as its target prices, with the highest end of the range being valid for ESI-origin material. As SteelOrbis reported previously, in early October deals were concluded mostly at AED 2,375-2,460/mt ($647-670/mt) ex-warehouse.
$1 = AED 3.67