During the past week, domestic billet prices in Turkey have increased by $20/mt on the lower end and by $15/mt on the upper end to $440-450/mt ex-works. According to market sources, the rapid rise seen in import scrap prices in Turkey as well as the tight availability problem in the local billet market have played an important role in the upward movement seen in domestic billet prices. The higher domestic billet prices have gained acceptance from buyers and market sources report that domestic billet sales at $445-450/mt ex-works have been concluded in Turkey’s Iskenderun region. Also, Turkish steel producer Kardemir has closed its billet sales today, July 5, after selling about 63,000 mt of billet in total. The mill had opened its sales on July 4 at the level of TRY 1,548/mt ($431/mt) ex-works for S235JR billet, excluding VAT.
It is observed that ex-CIS billet offers to Turkey have increased by $15/mt on the lower end to $425-430/mt CFR. Considering the price levels and long delivery times for domestic billet in Turkey, Turkish buyers, who had considered ex-CIS billet prices to be on the high side for some time, are now believed to prefer to conclude purchases from the CIS region. On the other hand, demand for ex-CIS billet in Egypt is still strong and it is thought that CIS-based suppliers may increase their billet offers further with the influence of the sharp rises seen in scrap and Chinese billet export quotations.
Chinese suppliers’ billet export prices have continued their upward movement and increased by an average of $7.5/mt week on week to $450-460/mt FOB. Under these circumstances, Chinese billet is not considered to be an alternative for Turkish buyers, while it is also not attractive for other export markets. Market sources report that Chinese billet suppliers are focusing on their domestic market where billet demand is lively.