level for November production as Turkish exporters opened output offers for the month at $700/mt FOB, Turkish and UK traders said Wednesday.

The Platts daily rebar export assessment came off $15/mt to $690/mt FOB Turkish ports Wednesday to reflect the lower bid-offer levels.

There is a caveat to these lower levels: Egyptian buyers, rather than posting firm bids, are fishing to see where the base of the market is; Turkish sellers have set offers as low as $700/mt FOB because of poor domestic demand and the weak euro/dollar allowing Greek, Italian and Spanish mills to sell to traditionally "Turkish" export markets.

"If the financial news becomes better, you will see Turkish local buyers entering the market again for rebar," a Turkish exporter at a mill said. "If the European Union comes up with a viable plan to tackle the debt problems, then the euro will strengthen again and the Southern European sales harming Turkish export prices will decrease."

For now, these are both on a knife-edge. As if to demonstrate the trader's point, one of Greece's largest steel mills sold rebar to Singapore -- a market usually buying Turkish mills -- Wednesday.

Egyptian bids arriving before the country's largest producer, EzzSteel, announces its October output prices -- which Turkish traders presume will be a reduction on month -- are being received but not responded to by mills in Turkey.

"Egyptian buyers are coming to the market just to test where the bottom of the market is," a Turkish steel trader said.

ETHIOPIA TENDER GATHERS INTEREST

Bright spots of demand appear further down the African continent. With Ethiopia increasing its rebar tenders -- up to 87,400 mt in the most recent one -- at least three Turkish mills are heard becoming involved in negotiations.

"There are a lot of intermediaries in this deal -- several traders found out about the tender and are involved in negotiations with mills in and near to Istanbul and Izmir," a Turkish export trader said on the matter.

"Mills are likely to enter with bids of $715/mt FOB for the tender, which will be decided early October," the trader said.

Around 20,000 mt of the tender includes 14 mm-diameter rebar, but the tender is a mixture of diameters ranging from 6-32 mm bars.