Over the past week, cash flow problems have continued to be observed in the Egyptian market, while no recovery has been seen in demand for rebar. Waiting to gain a clearer outlook in terms of raw material prices in the global market following the announcement of additional iron ore production cuts by Vale in Brazil, Egyptian rebar producers have maintained their prices at EGP 11,400-11,600/mt ($660-674/mt) ex-works. Meanwhile, traders’ offers in the market are at EGP 10,800-11,200/mt ($625-648/mt) ex-warehouse.
While Egyptian producers think that scrap prices will soften in the coming days, domestic rebar prices in the country are likely to trend in line with the changes in raw material prices as producers are not expecting to see any recovery in domestic rebar demand due to the ongoing cash flow problems and postponed payments by buyers.
$1 = EGP 17.28