Will Saudi rebar demand recovery influence other Middle Eastern markets?

In the UAE domestic rebar market, following local producers' price reduction, rebar market prices in the country have declined to the range of AED 2,500-2,550/mt ($681-694/mt) on theoretical weight basis. With the addition of Turkish origin rebar shipments to the UAE market, no rebar supply shortage is expected in the country. In the meantime, rebar demand in the UAE is still slow. This week, Turkish mills' rebar offers to the UAE have been at $680/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis.
 
The political turmoil affecting the Middle Eastern countries seems to have subsided in Saudi Arabia. While the new construction budget announced by the Saudi Kingdom is expected to have a positive influence on the country's rebar demand, local rebar producers are not expected to increase their prices for a while. At present, rebar demand seems to have returned to normal levels in Saudi Arabia, improving from the depressed levels of two to three weeks ago.
 
Due to the ongoing strong political tensions in Yemen, rebar transaction in the country have slowed down. Yemeni stockists, having low inventories, are now giving offers in a wide price range for the material they have on hand. Financial problems are causing buyers to delay their rebar purchases.
 
In Israel, due to the national holiday that will begin in April, rebar transactions in the country are foreseen to slow down. Thanks to the high inventories of imported rebar, no supply shortage is anticipated in April. Domestic rebar prices in this week's Israeli market stand at $755-770/mt on actual weight basis.
 
After witnessing rebar demand at good levels last week, demand in the Iraqi rebar market has lost strength this week. Rebar offers given from Turkey's Iskenderun region to Iraq have been at $665-670/mt ex-works this week.
 
The continuing political uncertainty in the Middle East makes it difficult to predict the future trends regarding regional rebar demand.