Asian suppliers remain interested in hot-rolled coil (HRC) sales to Europe and the Middle East since the achievable prices there are higher than in nearby markets. However, while European buyers have been negotiating for material of various ex-Asia origins, the Turkish market seems to be dominated by China for now. According to sources, China has been selling huge flats volumes to Turkey since the end of February, but also decent tonnages have recently been traded from China to the Middle East and Africa.
In Turkey, local HRC offers have remained at $1,300-1,350/mt ex-works for now. Ex-India suppliers are targeting $1,250/mt CFR and, even though certain discounts are possible, the price is not workable as China has been selling a lot lower than that. HRC offers from China for May shipments have been ranging mainly at $1,010-1,050/mt CFR Turkey depending on the volume and steel grade. Some sales have reportedly been closed recently at the lower end of the range.
In addition, according to sources, sellers of ex-China HRC have succeeded in trading up to 200,000 mt in total to Africa and the Middle East at around $900/mt FOB. In particular, the latest deals to the GCC have been reported at $980/mt CFR while current offers are at $1,000/mt CFR.
In the European market, the situation is different and mostly there are offers and negotiations for Asian origin materials, as an alternative to Chinese material. In particular, ex-India offers are at $1,300/mt CFR Europe or €1,180/mt CFR. “Indian levels are the lowest ones, but they also have the risk of exceeding the quota,” a source said.
In Spain, Japanese base HRC material is available at €1,200/mt CFR and ex-South Korea HRC is offered at €1,250/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned. The same level has been offered from Indonesia, while Vietnam is standing at €1,275/mt CFR Europe. Egyptian HRC in Europe is at €1,270/mt CFR. Turkey’s HRC offers are among the highest in the market, at €1,410-1,450/mt CFR Spain, duty paid. Ex-China HRC offers for Europe are estimated at $1,040-1,050/mt CFR and above.
However, European buyers are not interested in ex-China HRC, given the AD and CVD rates within the range of 18.1-35.9 percent. Instead, the EU mills have been active in Chinese slab purchases, since they need to replace missing volumes, mainly ex-Ukraine tonnages. According to sources, a total of 120,000 mt of steel slab from China have recently been sold to Europe at $860/mt FOB. Another mill has reportedly traded an additional 40,000 mt of slab, supposedly to Europe as well, at $840/mt FOB. The CFR price range for these deals is at $1,010-1,040/mt for different grades, sources report. In Turkey, the recent offers for ex-China slabs were heard at slightly below $1,010/mt CFR with no firm deals confirmed just yet, but deals are expected to be heard shortly.
