Russia’s Severstal has already managed to trade significant volumes of HRC for December production. According to sources, so far the supplier has sold up to 100,000 mt at $490-505/mt FOB for small coils and at $505-520/mt FOB for big coils, mainly to the EU but also to Latin America. The positive situation in China and improving workable price levels in the EU are among the key reasons for sufficient sales. At the moment, the mill is holding back offers, aiming to see whether the market will improve further.
NLMK is not yet in the market with December production HRC, SteelOrbis understands. As reported earlier, close to 50,000 mt were sold for November production at around $510-515/mt CFR Turkey or around $495-500/mt FOB.
MMK, the third Russian HRC supplier, has been active in Turkey and Asian markets. Some sources state that two large cargoes of around 60,000 mt in total were sold to Turkey at around $490-495/mt CFR, down from $500/mt CFR fixed in the previous deals. The freight is considered to be $15/mt on average. However, the deals were not commented on by the seller by the time of publication. For now, MMK has no intention to go below $500/mt CFR in the Turkish market, SteelOrbis understands. In addition, according to sources, MMK has sold at least 30,000 mt of HRC to Vietnam at $510/mt CFR or around $495/mt FOB Far Eastern ports. All sales are for November production.
Ukraine’s Metinvest has reportedly sold 12,000 mt of HRC to the UAE at $505/mt CFR, while around 25,000 mt were sold to Pakistan at $490/mt CFR Karachi, local sources report. In Turkey, the supplier targets at least $500/mt CFR for big coils, SteelOrbis understands.
Market sources have gradually started gaining optimism regarding the possible price trends, taking into account that the Asian markets are rather strong for now and import scrap prices are firm in Turkey. “Buyers are lining up for almost all of our products,” one seller said.
