Turkish mills, which have been unable to compete in Asian markets for a long time, have managed to conclude rebar sales to this destination at competitive prices.

Although there was news in the market of a western Turkish mill’s rebar sale to Singapore at $650/tonne cfr theoretical weight two weeks ago, there was no confirmation of this deal.

A Marmara mill is now however confirmed to have sold 50,000 tonnes of rebar to Hong Kong at $670/t cfr actual weight, for September shipment. With the indicative freight rate at around $45/t, the fob Turkey equivalent of this sale would be around $625/t actual weight, Kallanish notes.

The sale has given hope to Turkish mills as sentiment has been quite bearish. Turkish rebar producers were unable to compete in the Asian market with suppliers in Gulf countries and India, and large-volume sales were lacking for a long time.

The mill that closed the rebar sale is heard to have concluded a US-origin HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap purchase at around $330-335/t cfr Turkey, though confirmation is yet to be received.