The prices for Turkish origin HRC have remained relatively stable again over the past week, mainly due to stable scrap prices and the lack of aggressive imports, but also due to some hopes of a revival in the EU market. In the meantime, Turkish buyers, this time re-rollers, have continued buying HRC from China regardless of the expected antidumping investigation results.
According to sources, a total of 40,000-45,000 mt of Q195 HRC of 3 mm and higher from China for February shipment has been booked recently at around $600/mt CFR, which is considered to be a little on the low side. At the end of last week, offers mainly stood at $615/mt CFR for the mentioned quality. In addition, as SteelOrbis reported earlier, last week two 20,000 mt HRC cargoes for pipe production were booked to Turkey from China at the evaluated base price of around $625/mt CFR. “It is higher because it is different material and also it was traded by a first-tier mill. In any case, Turkey continues buying from China despite the AD risks, but to be fair the buyers are definitely the ones with no export license issues,” a Turkish market source said. It is noteworthy that, whatever the AD duty will be for China, as well as for Russia, India and Japan, which are part of the same investigation, it will not be charged under the current inward processing regime in Turkey. In addition to China, India is also in the market with offers, at $650-660/mt CFR, which is not yet workable in the Turkish market.
Domestically, March deliveries of HRC in Turkey are at $700-720/mt ex-works, with small discounts still considered possible. According to some mills, there has been improved demand from the EU for the new round of the quota, partly due to the price uptrend in Europe. Another reason is the potential risk of delivering from Asia to Europe due to the ongoing situation in the Red Sea. Some demand for 30,000 mt is lately reported to have come from Spain and the cargo is rumored to have been sold at $690-700/mt FOB Turkey. However, many consider this level to be a little overpriced given the AD duties on Turkish material.