Turkish mills are being squeezed by costlier scrap and billet and high energy prices which make rebar export sales very difficult for them since buyers are asking for discounts. Moreover, Turkish mills are attempting to increase their export offers, though sluggish international demand and the unclear situation in the Israel and Yemen are the main negative factors. In addition, Turkish longs export offers are still hardly competitive compared to Northern African offers, although the number of offers from the latter region has been limited lately due to the absence of Algeria.
Several Turkish mills are increasing their rebar prices step by step, while a few mills have been raising their prices sharply since the beginning of this week. As a result, most local buyers are destocking before buying new material and are monitoring the import scrap price trend closely. The ongoing currency fluctuations and limited liquidity are the other obstacles.
Currently, ex-Turkey official rebar offers vary at $575-580/mt FOB for November-early December shipment, with only a few mills offering at slightly higher levels, versus $560-570/mt FOB a week ago. Sources report that prices below $575/mt FOB may only be considered depending on the region and tonnage. No fresh rebar export sale has been heard so far.
In the local Turkish rebar market, most mills have settled their official rebar prices at $570-585/mt ex-works, rising by $15-20/mt over the past week. Even one Iskenderun-based mill today issued its rebar price at $590/mt ex-works, though this seems somewhat difficult to achieve under the current market conditions.
In the wire rod segment, demand seems relatively better. Most Turkish mills are offering wire rod at $585-590/mt FOB, versus $570-580/mt a week earlier. Sources report around a total 40,000 mt of wire rod were traded in the export segment over the past two weeks. Around 30,000 mt of wire rod were traded to Germany at $545/mt FOB earlier this month, while the details of the sale of the remaining 10,000 mt of wire rod have not been clarified by the time of publication. In the Turkish domestic market, wire rod prices vary at $575-605/mt ex-works, versus the workable wire rod prices at $565-585/mt ex-works a week ago.