End-users still show moderate demand for rebar in Iraq, and thus stockists mainly prefer to maintain an average stock level. Foreign suppliers, in turn, continue to follow the uptrend while selling June output. However, these moves have confused traders as final customers will hardly accept new quotaitons.
In particular, prices for Turkish rebar have added $40-45/t in two weeks, and reached $800-805/t CPT Baghdad owing to healthy domestic demand, and latest scrap purchases at higher prices. Ukraine’s ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih preliminarily plans to start offering rebar at $785-790/t CPT Baghdad, by $5/t up from the lower end of the price range over the same period. However, it will make final decision about new prices only next week. Nevertheless, Iraqi buyers say they are ready to buy import material at no higher than $750-765/t CPT Baghdad taking into account last deals in the second half of April. Besides, stockists have to hold prices almost unchanged so far, but they will be able to implement at least $10/t rise if demand from end-users gets much stronger.
Quotations of rebar from local producer Erbil Steel have not changed over two weeks, so they are by at least $70/t lower than domestic ones and quite attractive for local customers.
( source: www.metalexpert-group.com )