As traders seek to justify their existence in a world of ever declining volumes and thinning margins, a few of them are looking at getting closer to production units by concluding various agreements on spot or long-term basis.
SteelOrbis had received confirmation of a large deal of such type some time ago with one of the international trading houses concluding a two-way transaction with one of the steel mills located in the Iskenderun region of
Turkey.
London-headquartered steel trading company Liberty Commodities has also been involved in a ferrous
scrap supply contract recently in the Turkish market along with a billet purchase at the same time from the same mill but this time in the Marmara region.
SteelOrbis talked to Liberty to understand more about the background of such transactions. Mr. Gianpiero Repole of Liberty Commodities stated that traders bring their ability to source
scrap and finance it at international rates also utilizing some tools to shed some of the risk, whereas the Turkish mills bring their competitive power and their ability to convert with good yields.
Whether such deals are a sign of changing times or just a knee-jerk reaction to a critical low in the billet and rebar markets remains to be seen, but it certainly confirms that the steel trading world still has a few arrows left to shoot and will not go down without a struggle.