The Turkish market has experienced some significant rises in import hot rolled coil (HRC) prices, amid the limited availability in the market, increased demand locally and costlier scrap and slab. As a result, the CIS-based exporters are basically sold out for April production and are now targeting higher prices for May production shipments.
Russia’s MMK is now offering at $790/mt CFR for Turkey, while the latest deals for April production closed at $760-770/mt CFR and up to $785/mt CFR for some minor lots. According to sources, the supplier has sold around 50,000 mt within the mentioned price range. Ukraine’s Metinvest is in the market for May shipments with $780/mt CFR for small coils and $790/mt CFR for big coils, while some say these levels have already been fixed in deals for small volumes. Last week, the supplier was selling at $750/mt CFR and $760/mt CFR, respectively. Russia’s NLMK was last heard offering at $775/mt CFR at the end of last week. Currently, according to sources, the supplier is not in the market and is expected to return with around $790/mt CFR or a higher level. It is worth mentioning that the recent freight rate increase in the region of around $5-10/mt is the issue in the market, taking into account its effect on the sellers’ FOB levels.
Local HRC prices in Turkey are mainly reported at $810-820/mt ex-works levels, while some believe discounts down to $800-805/mt ex-works levels are possible. All mills are in the market with HRC for June deliveries. In the export segment, offers are at $800-820/mt FOB base, while some bids have been reported at $770-775/mt FOB base with no deals closed, SteelOrbis understands.
