Middle Eastern wire rod buyers are waiting until the end of the Feast of Sacrifice holiday, which will begin this weekend, before they conclude their new bookings. As demand coming from this region keeps quiet, Turkish suppliers are maintaining their interest in Latin American and African markets, particularly West and Central Africa.
According to the information provided by Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters' Association (IMMIB), in October this year Turkey's top three wire rod export markets were Israel, Brazil and Ghana.
This week, Turkish mills' wire rod export offers were standing at $660-670/mt FOB for shipments in late November. However, wire rod buyers in the international market are still delaying their decisions to conclude new bookings.
On the other hand, wire rod prices in the Bulgarian domestic market continue to soften in line with the appreciation of the Bulgarian lev against the US dollar. In this week's Bulgarian domestic long steel market, stockists' mesh quality wire rod prices have softened by BGN 15-20/mt ($11-14/mt) as compared to last week to BGN 1,035-1,040/mt ($726-730/mt) CPT on actual weight basis, exclusive of 20 percent VAT. Wire rod demand in Bulgaria is still quiet. It is thought that prices may soften further next week.
Asian wire rod markets, such as Vietnam and India are also quiet. Singapore, on the other hand, was one of Turkey's major wire rod export markets in October.
In Brazil, wire rod demand is expected to continue in the coming period, thanks to the ongoing construction projects for the FIFA World Cup.
In Turkey and the Middle East, buyers are predicted to reassess the prospects for new wire rod bookings after the holiday, while in the US and Europe buyers may continue their bookings until Christmas.