Following the many purchases concluded last week from Turkish steel mill Kardemir, buyers and sellers in the local Turkish
billet market have been maintained a wait-and-see stance ahead of the referendum to be held on Sunday, April 16. Amid the sluggish trading activity in the local Turkish
billet market, domestic prices have moved sideways week on week at $400-410/mt ex-works.
Chinese
billet export quotations have continued their downward movement as Chinese suppliers seek to step up their export sales and thereby reduce their finished and semi-finished steel inventories, while the decline in iron ore prices from $80-90/mt to $60-70/mt over the past two weeks has also contributed to the lower Chinese
billet export prices. Additionally, ex-CIS
billet export prices have also declined with the influence of lower Chinese export offers. As a result, import
billet quotations in
Turkey have moved down by $5/mt on the lower end and $10/mt on the upper end week on week to $400-430/mt CFR.
The competitive export pricing strategy of Chinese
billet suppliers is expected to continue in the short term amid the ongoing sharp declines recorded in iron ore prices against the backdrop of high iron ore stocks at Chinese ports, and also due to the high inventory levels of finished and semi-finished steel in China. The competitiveness of China's
billet exports is expected to contribute to the downward movement of the global
billet market and of ex-CIS
billet offer prices.