Buying activity keeps slackening in the UAE market for longs and sections. Construction activity has slowed down in the country amid unstable situation in the region, thus end-users are showing slack demand. In turn, traders, who have enough stocks until late April, are purchasing the material only in small batches mostly to order. As a result, local producers and trading companies have started substantially reducing their prices to attract buyers in view of falling import quotations of longs and sections. At the same time, market participants report that construction industry is so far unlikely to see much improvement. So, domestic prices for the material will hardly rise in the near future.
In particular, the country''s leading longs manufacturer Emirates Steel Industries, whose prices for rebar and wire rod had remained unchanged since mid-January, has dropped them by $27-41/t (AED 100-150/t) and $23-27/t (AED 85-100/t) respectively in two weeks. Although exclusively the producer''s material is used in state construction projects, weaker demand in the domestic market has stimulated its sales abroad. In particular, company''s rebar is reportedly offered to Saudi Arabia at $735-740/t CPT Riyadh ($40-45/t down in two weeks), which is quite attractive level for this destination. At the same time to Omani buyers the material is quoted at $730-735/t C&F while their domestic mills'' prices are almost at the same level. The other local producer Qatar Steel has similarly raised its domestic prices for rebar. Some market sources report the re-roller is presently selling only the material from its parent company Qatar Steel Company (Qatar) ex-warehouse of the mill in UAE, though no reasons for production stoppage are known.
At the same time, quotations of Turkish rebar have lost a mere $5/t and now they are by $33-42/t lower than domestic prices, while two weeks ago the gap was $65-70/t.
In the stockist market local rebar and wire rod are quoted $14-21/t (AED 50-75/t) and $20-27/t (AED 75-100/t), respectively, above the mills'' offers, while Turkish rebar is priced by $28-32/t higher, which means that stockists remain optimistic.
Offers in the segment for import sections are few, considering low buying activity in the country. However, Emirati buyers are planning to start replenishing their dwindling stocks in a couple of weeks
( Source: www.metalexperts-group.com )