Business activity in the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) wire rod market remains slow as the demand from the end-user side is nowadays limited. In addition, the supply has increased with the Fujairah-based producer gradually strengthening its positions in the Emirati market.
The official domestic price of Emirates Steel Industries (ESI) is still at $485/mt ex-works, same as at the end of September. The offers from Qatar Steel FZE are at $483-485/mt CPT officially; however, according to the sources, the seller might agree for below $480/mt CPT levels. In the meantime, the Fujairah-based United Steel Industries, which has started the wire rod production one some months ago, is offering its material at $470-475/mt CPT, SteelOrbis has learned.
UAE is rather active in wire rod exports within the region, the offers to Saudi Arabia are reported at $520/mt CPT, down by around $10/mt as compared to late September. Some small sales have been closed to the destination, sources report.
In the import segment the indicative offers from China at around $485-495/mt CFR - $5-10/mt lower as compared to the end of September - are not considered workable as there is 10 percent import duty. However, sources report there are a lot of wire rod offers from Iran at $460/mt CPT, though hardly any sale was concluded. “The price is workable but I don’t think anyone will buy, it is too risky,” an Emirati producer told SteelOrbis.