Suppliers of billets in the regions continue to steadily increase prices, which is facilitated by the continued rise in the cost of raw materials and the lack of supply of rolled products. In Turkey, since the beginning of December, scrap prices have increased by $40, and December scrap prices in the United States will rise by at least $50. The rapid increase in prices leads to the desire of consumers to the active purchasing at the best prices.
In the first week of December, transactions in the Turkish domestic market were in the range of $540-560 / t exw against $505-515 / t exw in the last week of November. the further target of producers is the level of $560-575 / t exw. due to the shortage of supply and rising domestic prices, there is an increasing interest in imports. Suppliers from the CIS, taking advantage of the favorable situation, raised quotes to $530-550 / t cfr in transactions with Turkish buyers.
The price growth trend is supported in the MENA markets. Taking into account the rise in the cost of raw materials, producers in the Persian Gulf countries raised prices for January shipments of billets to $545/t exw against $ 470/t exw in November. in the import market, the price range shifted up from $490-520/t to $525-540 / t cfr. the supply of billets from iran increased to $ 490-500/t fob.
Analysts of Ukrpromvneshexpertiza predict a further rise in the price of scrap and iron ore, which will allow CIS suppliers to maintain an upward trend in December-January and raise export prices in the Black Sea ports by $20-25 from the current level. By the end of February, there is a high probability of market saturation and a downward price correction.
In China, prices for rebar and wire rod after the decline in late November began to grow again, rising for the week by $5-7 to $627 / t and $ 660/t exw with 13% VAT, respectively. Total stocks of rebar and wire rod from traders continue to decline, falling over the past month by 3.47 million tons to 6.39 million tons.
In the Southeast Asian markets, demand is growing, thanks to the activation of orders by customers to replenish warehouses. In the last decade of November, Chinese companies raised export prices by $17-20 to $565-575 / t fob for rebar and $590-610 / t fob for wire rod. A shortage of supplies and a low level of warehouses are forcing buyers to accept price increases.
Local producers in MENA are revising December prices up by $20-40 compared to November. In the import market, rebar in the region has increased in price by $55 since the end of November and is available at $560-580 / t cfr.
The general upward trend in prices affected the rebar and wire rod market in Turkey. during the week, domestic rebar prices rose by $28-38 to $568-578 / ton exw. transactions on wire rod were held at $640-650 / ton exw, which is on average $20 higher than a week earlier. export prices for the week increased by $33 for rebar and $20 for wire rod.
in connection with the activation of buyers, the growth trends in the rebar market in the eu are increasing. For the week, the domestic price range including delivery rose by €35 to €485-550/t. since the end of november, export offers have also increased by €35 to €450-465/t fob.
According to the forecast of UPE experts, the quotes of rebar and wire rod in the regional markets will maintain an upward trend, and by the end of January they will reach a local maximum, adding $20-25 to the current level. In February, as warehouses are filled, a decrease in trading activity and a downward correction in prices are expected.