[SMM Steel] Southeast Asian Flat Steel Diverges as Vietnamese Mills Raise October Offers While Chinese Prices Weaken

[Turkey] Turkish domestic rebar prices extended their upward trajectory, with mills continuing to push up asking prices amid moderately active market conditions. Domestic rebar prices increased by 10 USD/tonne to 605–610 USD/tonne ex-works (excluding VAT). Regionally, major mills in the Marmara area quoted 620–625 USD/tonne ex-works, while primary producers in Izmir and Iskenderun offered at 600 USD/tonne ex-works. Although terminal demand remained only moderately active without heavy inventory stockpiling by downstream buyers, steady procurement flows were supported by a reviving construction sector and tight supply for certain rebar specifications. Concurrently, the domestic wire coil market saw brisk trading, with several mills in Marmara and Izmir securing notable sales at 620–630 USD/tonne ex-works. In contrast, the export market for long steel remained relatively sluggish. Wire coil export offers from Izmir were raised by 15 USD/tonne from the previous week to 620 USD/tonne, though buyers maintained strong resistance; similarly, rebar export offers were recorded at 610 USD/tonne fob, but overall demand was extremely weak as buyers stepped back to wait and see following sharp price surges over the past two weeks.

As of September 4, the latest SMM data shows that total iron ore inventory across 35 main ports in China stood at 143.91 million mt, down 1.7 million mt MoM, with overall inventory trending lower. Daily average port pick-up volume edged up by 55,000 mt to 3.145 million mt.

Iron ore futures traded firmer on Wednesday. The DCE most-traded I2701 contract settled at 726.5 yuan/mt, up 1.32% from the previous session. Qingdao port spot prices rose by an average of 12–14 yuan/mt, with traders showing only moderate enthusiasm in offering and mills buying on an as-needed basis. Overall spot trading activity was lacklustre.