Turkish merchant bar quotes slide amid weak demand

Turkish merchant bar producers have decreased their export prices slightly due to weak demand in the global market.

On Friday, Turkish producers’ export offers stood mostly at $750-770/tonne fob Turkey for angles, $760-780/t for IPN-UPN sections, $770-790/t for flat bars, and $760-780/t for IPE sections. These are $10/t down from the low end of the previous week’s price range. However, there are also offers at lower levels of $730-740/t fob for angles, while quotes are seen varying depending on producers’ production cost and capacity utilisation level.

Demand remained subdued throughout the week. A producer is heard to have sold angles at $830/t cfr to Morocco.

EU buyers are slowly making purchases for the new quota term that will start in October. This is mostly due to delays in July deliveries arising from global problems in obtaining vessels. Most buyers are concerned about undelivered vessels as they may be subject to 25% tax or have to wait in the entrepot if quotas are maxed out earlier. Their expectations for lower prices are also a factor for delaying purchases.

A Turkish producer tells Kallanish: “I have two vessels, 1,000 tonnes each, that have not yet arrived. I know other producers that are also having delays for big quantities. That’s a big risk for the buyer.”

North African demand also slowed during the week, in addition to Latin American demand. Asian and Middle Eastern demand was meanwhile almost zero.

A producer says he did not want to miss any firm bids and has accepted lower prices, while offering at $755-760/t fob for angles. 

On the billet market, meanwhile, Turkish producers have bought CIS-origin billet from producers at $655/t fob Black Sea. Billet is offered by domestic mills at $695-700/t ex-works.

Burcak Alpman Turkey