Long-rolled steelmakers in Turkey concluded trades some
$25/MT below last week's offers for reinforcing bar and cut offers of mesh
quality wire rod $15/MT as the absence of domestic buyers continued to push the
market down, participants said Wednesday.
At least two mills were heard concluding rebar sales at $655/MT FOB Izmir and
Samsun for February production and loading, considerably below the offers
quoted at $680/MT FOB Turkish ports last week for similar production and
shipment.
Furthermore, a Turkish producer is looking to export a cargo of February
production rebar at $680/MT CFR US on a theoretical weight basis. The same mill
is concentrating mesh quality wire rod offers at $680/MT FOB Izmir, according
to a range of international traders.
The most recent heard sale of wire rod was at $695/MT FOB Iskenderun that went
through last week.
“It's not easy for the Turkish mills to drop their
prices as they are sitting on expensive scrap inventories, but they have no
choice because the local market has stopped due to the harsh winter
conditions,” a trader said.
Import prices of billet from Black Sea sources continued to slide on Wednesday
as at least one sale went through at $585/MT FOB for shipment to Bartin port in
North Turkey i.e. down by around $15/MT from a sale made on a similar route 10
days ago.
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