The pre-holiday week has turned out to be rather quiet in the Turkish hot-rolled coil (HRC) market, mainly due to the absence of CIS-based suppliers. However, while the main competitors being out of the market should prevent Turkish mills from giving discounts, the aggressive price policy of Indian producers in the region has been undermining their positions.
According to sources, the latest deal for up to 20,000 mt of ex-India HRC were booked last week at $800-805/mt CFR Turkey for February shipment. This is an additional cargo for the same terms of shipment for the buyer, while the earlier cargo was booked a few weeks back at $835/mt CFR, SteelOrbis understands. However, the latest offers from India have been reported at $780-790/mt CFR, marking a competitive level for buyers against local offers. It is worth mentioning that another 10,000 mt of HRC were sold to Egypt at $810/mt CFR.
Russian mills have been out of the market for a while now, while the most recent ex-Ukraine offers were at $800-810/mt CFR Turkey last week. The suppliers are expected to return to business after January 10.
The competitive offers from India have naturally been putting pressure on local HRC offers in Turkey, although the Turkish mills have mostly been resisting a downturn in prices. Most official offers for February-March shipments have been voiced at $830-850/mt ex-works, down to $820/mt ex-works in some cases. However, some sources report there are offers at $815-825/mt, delivered to the Marmara region. “I think with this market we will see $800/mt ex-works and below very soon,” a source told SteelOrbis.
