Turkey-based HRC suppliers are not feeling much pressure lately in terms of sales, since almost all local mills have managed to secure decent sales volumes over the past couple of weeks. On the export side, especially in the EU, where Turkish HRC origin is considered relatively safe, large volumes have been booked for customs clearance on October 1. In the domestic market, sales have also been quite active, despite the fact that end-user demand remains relatively weak and financial issues continue to weigh on daily business.
Import business activity in Turkey has been somewhat slow this week following massive bookings from Asia concluded over the past 15 days. According to market sources and SteelOrbis' evaluations, Turkey booked close to 300,000 mt of HRC from China, Vietnam and Malaysia during this period.
The most recent prices from China have been at $535/mt CFR, while offers from Vietnam have been at $545-555/mt CFR as a minimum. Indonesia, facing tighter sales opportunities in the EU market, has started offering HRC to Turkey at around $550-555/mt CFR. All of the above are for September shipments.
Domestic HRC prices in Turkey have been at $580-600/mt ex-works depending on the supplier and, according to sources, significant volumes have recently been sold at $580-585/mt and up to $590-595/mt ex-works, again depending on the mill. Currently, bids from medium-sized buyers at $570-575/mt ex-works are not considered acceptable.
Export HRC prices from Turkey have now settled at $570-585/mt FOB for September shipments, while the lowest deal prices have been reported at $568-572/mt FOB. Currently, following the rather heavy sales to the EU, mainly concluded at $570-580/mt FOB over the past 2-3 weeks, the mills are not feeling under pressure. Some sources estimate the total volume already sold to the EU for the Q4 quota period at 270,000-300,000 mt of HRC. In Egypt, bids for Turkish material have remained low, at around $550-560/mt FOB, which is not considered a viable option for suppliers.
