On May 18, the largest steel producer and a market leader in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirates Steel Industries (ESI), has issued its rebar price for June production, increasing it by $144/mt (AED 515/mt) compared to the official offers voiced in the previous month. Although demand from local end-users has remained far from satisfactory owing to the lack of construction and infrastructure projects, local prices have been expected to rise in line with developments in the global steel and raw material markets. “Unless prices were adjusted in line with the trend in the global market, with recent iron ore prices we would have been deeply hit by heavy costs,” one UAE-based rebar seller said.
Accordingly, ESI has voiced its rebar price for June production at $831/mt (AED 3,050/mt) ex-works, SteelOrbis has learned. “The market expects local prices at around AED 3,000/mt, but there is still no support from demand,” the representative of another UAE-based rebar mill stated shortly before ESI’s announcement. While Union Iron & Steel has announced its offers at the same level as ESI’s prices, i.e., at $831/mt (AED 3,050/mt) ex-works, Conares and Hamriya are taking their time to announce new offers.
$1 = AED 3.67