In the past couple of weeks a fluctuating trend has been observed in the local Turkish merchant bar market. In particular regions, some producers' prices have seen both increases and decreases even within the same week. The price gaps among the various regions have been another noteworthy feature of the local Turkish market in the last week. Although demand in the local market has registered some improvement in Turkey, it is still not at the desired levels. Also, merchant bar demand remains weak in the local Turkish market since the construction sector in Turkey has not yet been showing much activity even though spring has arrived.
Meanwhile, the uptrend which was evident in the Turkish merchant bar export market in the last month has this week been replaced by a softening trend. While the latest offers have been at $470-490/mt FOB Turkey, it is mentioned that there may be offers at lower price levels depending on tonnages. Compared to rebar, demand is at lower levels for merchant bars. According to the data published by the IMMIB (General Secretariat of the Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters' Association), Turkey exported approximately 113,000 mt of merchant bars in March 2009, compared to around 127,000 mt in March 2008. Iraq ranked first as export destination for Turkish merchant bars in March this year with 16,000 mt, followed by Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Algeria and Saudi Arabia.
Looking at the European merchant bar market, a similar picture is observed as compared to Turkey. While demand for merchant bars is at low levels in Europe, scrap and billet prices have been determining merchant bar prices in the region. As sales tonnages are at low levels in Europe, offers have been varying depending on customers and payment terms.