With Turkish buyers still preferring scrap instead of import
billet due to the cost advantage it ensures in finished steel production, demand for
billet in
Turkey is still at low levels. Turkish steel producers have kept their domestic
billet offers stable over the past week at $330-340/mt ex-works with the support of import
billet offers which have moved sideways in the same period.
Last week, Chinese
billet export prices had increased by an average of $5/mt week on week to $330-335/mt FOB due to the upward trend of the Chinese futures market. However, Chinese suppliers are absent in the current week due to the Chinese National Day Holiday (Oct. 1-7). Meanwhile, ex-CIS
billet offers to
Turkey have also remained unchanged during the past week at $300-325/mt FOB. Market sources report that three ex-CIS
billet deals have been concluded in
Turkey in the current week.