Longs suppliers in the Mediterranean region, specifically Turkey and North Africa, have increased their offer price levels over the past two weeks, mainly driven by increased costs and the slight demand improvement. In addition, supply volumes are slightly limited, especially from Algeria, while ex-Asia offers are still unworkable. However, most market players, though agreeing that the market is relatively firm, do not expect any further strong rise in prices.
In Turkey, there have been some rebar and wire rod sales in the last 10-15 days. In particular, Romania has continued buying rebar at $580-585/mt FOB, while the same prices have been fixed to Yemen in a couple of deals for around 15,000 mt of rebar in total. In addition, Israel, despite the obvious lack of interest in active steel trading due to the war in Gaza, has booked a medium-sized cargo of rebar once again at $580-585/mt and wire rod at up to $590/mt FOB. Currently, similar levels are still available in Turkey depending on the supplier, but some mills are attempting to increase rebar prices to $590/mt FOB and above, while some of the wire rod targets have been voiced at $600-605/mt FOB. Some inquiries are still coming from Romania, and also from northwestern Europe, with no fresh deals reported. Turkey is mainly offering for early January shipment, but some longs volumes may still be allocated for December.
The presence of Asian wire rod suppliers in the Mediterranean region has been limited since Asian mills have increased their offers quite significantly. The latest price from Indonesia has been voiced at $550/mt FOB with at least $50-60/mt freight to region, which is up around $20/mt over the past fortnight. “It is basically the price which Europe can obtain from Turkey or North Africa but with a much shorter sailing time,” a trader told SteelOrbis. In Turkey, the interest in the Asian wire rod has weakened following the announced safeguard investigation.
In North Africa, Egypt is currently active, having increased offers by around $10/mt. The largest producer is offering at $580-585/mt FOB for both rebar and wire rod, while offers to the US are at around $565/mt FOB on theoretical weight basis. The wire rod offers for Saudi Arabia are at $610/mt delivered. In the meantime, other Egyptian producers, according to sources, may consent to deal at $570-580/mt FOB for both rebar and wire rod. Normally, January shipment is available. In Algeria, the export allocation particularly for rebar is limited since there is a need to cover the supply gap in the domestic market due to some ongoing maintenance works. A price indication for the EU has been reported at around €600/mt CFR.