Prices in the Turkish merchant bar market have increased in the last week. Rising scrap and billet prices were still the main reason behind the uptrend in question, while on the export side in particular a positive picture still continued to be seen.
Although demand was still at low levels in the local Turkish market last week, as Ramadan approaches merchant bar prices in this market have registered an increase thanks to rising scrap and billet prices, as mentioned above. At the close of the week, prices in the local market were at TRY 780-820/mt ($531-558/mt) ex-works excluding VAT, while end-user demand was still silent.
On the other hand, things are different on the export side in Turkey. While new increases have been observed in prices, offers are still for October. While the same regions as before continue to show strong demand, it can again be affirmed that the US can now also be added to the countries in question.
Meanwhile, Europe has started its holidays. Although producers in Europe tried to raise their prices in the weeks leading up to the holidays, low demand did not allow prices to increase. Although list prices were on the table, it was not possible to mention definite price levels on the sales side since prices showed variation depending on customer, tonnage and payment terms. Producers in this region, who aim to raise their merchant bar prices in September, think that demand after the holidays will likely provide support for increases in their prices.