Posted on 30 Oct 2019
Egyptian domestic market rebar sales inched down -2% on-year in July to 660,300 tonnes, but rebounded from 502,800t in June, according to the latest Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) data monitored by Kallanish. The average price of these sales fell -7% on-year to EGP 11,798/tonne ($731).
Rebar production in Egypt, meanwhile, fell -13% on-year in July to 697,400t, but rebounded from 491,000t a month prior. Crude steel output that month fell -20.2% on-year to 526,000t, according to worldsteel data.
Egyptian rebar sales in January-July thus fell -6% on-year to 4.23 million tonnes, accelerating from a -4% drop in January-May.
Seven-month rebar production fell -10% – versus -8% after five months – to 4.27mt, when crude steel output rose 3.7% to 4.6mt. This continues the reversal of the trend seen in recent years of Egypt producing more rebar than it does crude steel and therefore needing to import a portion of its billet requirement.
Earlier this month Egypt imposed definitive safeguard measures on imports of long and semi-finished steel products for three years (see Kallanish passim). The ministry levied for the first year a 16% import duty on the cif price of billet, or a minimum of $74/t, higher than the provisional 15% duty applied in April. Wire rod and rebar remain subject to a 25% duty in the first year.
Also this month, Ezz Steel said its second-quarter performance was hampered by falling steel prices and rising iron ore pellet costs, exacerbated by “…exceptionally high” costs of funding and energy in Egypt. However, the reduction in early October of natural gas price for
