Ex-CIS billet bookings in Turkey

Market sources state that ex-CIS billet offers are now at $510-515/mt FOB, declining by $10/mt on week-on-week basis, while ex-CIS billet deals in Turkey have continued to be concluded in the range of $525-532/mt CFR.
 
Accordingly, CIS billet suppliers have sold about 80,000-90,000 mt of materials in total to Turkey in the past week. An Izmir-based mill has bought 15,000 mt of billet at $525/mt CFR, two steel producers in the Iskenderun region have concluded bookings for 30,000 mt of billet in total at $530-532/mt CFR, a market player from the Marmara region has concluded a transaction at $525/mt CFR for 30,000 mt of billet, and finally a Karabuk-based buyer has purchased 10,000 mt of billet from the CIS at $528/mt CFR.
 
Having found scrap prices to be on the high side, Turkish steelmakers have preferred to resume their operations using billet, though the recent price declines in import billet offers may slow down transaction activity for billet. Meanwhile, ex-CIS billet prices are expected to maintain their low levels for a while and the purchasing activities in Turkey will likely continue until May.