Following the referendum on April 16, trading activity in the local Turkish billet market has remained slow, with buyers' demand for domestic billet at low levels. Domestic billet prices have remained stable during the past week at $400-410/mt ex-works.
In the same period, import billet quotations in Turkey have declined by $20/mt on the upper end to $400-410/mt CFR amid the ongoing downward movement of Chinese billet export prices.
Chinese suppliers had for a long time preferred to stay away from the Turkish billet market as their export prices were higher than domestic and alternative import billet quotations in Turkey. But following the sharp declines recorded in Chinese billet export prices as of the first week of April, Chinese billet suppliers have returned to Turkey this week with new offers. However, Turkish buyers currently consider Chinese suppliers' delivery times to be disadvantageous and so they have not accepted Chinese billet offers for now.
The ongoing downward movement of Chinese billet export prices has raised expectations among Turkish buyers of a further decline in billet prices, and so they are maintaining a wait-and-see stance. Chinese billet suppliers are still determined to follow an aggressive price strategy in their export markets as domestic billet demand in China remains weak, while Chinese suppliers' billet inventory levels are on the high side. With Chinese billet export prices continuing to move down, this is expected to put downward pressure on domestic and alternative import billet prices in Turkey, causing them to decline further.