During the past week, billet export prices from the CIS region have remained unchanged in the range of $320-335/mt FOB. However, Turkish buyers consider ex-CIS billet prices to be on the high side and are not interested in concluding bookings at the price levels in question. Furthermore, Turkish buyers are not inclined to buy import billet amid the decreases seen in import scrap prices and have preferred to book import scrap this week due to the cost advantage it ensures in their steel production.
Meanwhile, ex-CIS billet prices, having remained unchanged this week despite weak demand due to the general uptrend of Chinese billet prices seen since early July, are expected to face downward pressure in the coming days since Chinese billet offers have started to soften and also due to the downward trend of scrap prices. In the meantime, demand for ex-CIS billet in Turkey is expected to remain at weak levels until mid-September due to the Feast of Sacrifice holiday.