Ex-CIS steel slab is nowadays on offer in a rather wide range, since the mills prefer to set the price depending on the destination and according to the overall market situation in each outlet.
Turkish mills have been receiving ex-CIS offers at around $840-850/mt CFR from some of the mills earlier this week, while some have decided to take a step back in order to evaluate China’s situation and prospects of the announced tax decisions. Prior to this week, the deals for ex-CIS slab in Turkey were closed from Russia at $855/mt CFR. It is worth mentioning that Turkey continues receiving the slab offers from the alternative destinations. In particular, according to one buyer, Brazil is there with $860/mt CFR Turkey. One of the Indian sellers is in the market with the same level, while another one is more aggressive - $820/mt CFR. The freights from the Black Sea to Turkey are estimated at around $30-35/mt.
Still, Turkey is considered to be a slightly higher payer for slabs compared to some alternative markets. According to sources, at the end of last week $800/mt FOB level was fixed in a sale to Europe, while this week the same destination has reportedly booked slightly lower than that, SteelOrbis understands. Overall, the ex-CIS slab prices are nowadays ranging within $795-815/mt FOB versus $830-850/mt FOB seen in the first half of July.
It is worth mentioning, that some of the slab suppliers are trying to evaluate where there will be able to take advantage of the China’s tax decision regarding cancelling the rebates for the cold-rolled and coated steels. Some believe the HRC prices in Turkey and Mediterranean regions might be supported by the stronger situation in the downstream segments. However, some of the sources believe the effect will not be immediate. “Another thing that there are talks about China imposing 15 percent of export tax for HRC next week, that might have an effect,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
