Hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in Turkey have decreased over the past week as both local and foreign sellers have provided discounts. One reason is the limited demand locally and in the EU, while another is the downturn in the import scrap segment.
As a result, according to sources, domestic HRC prices in Turkey have weakened to $1,010-1,030/mt ex-works, versus $1,020-1,050/mt ex-works, seen earlier in August. The mills are in the market to sell for October deliveries. As regards exports, Turkish mills have decreased their offers by around $20/mt due to the almost complete silence among European buyers amid the ongoing holidays. “Everyone is waiting to see how the EU will return in September. If demand there is decent, then Turkey may not have to drop local prices too much,” a source told SteelOrbis.
In the import segment, trade is somewhat livelier, taking into account the price difference with domestic offers in Turkey. According to sources, Ukraine’s Metinvest has traded medium lots at $920/mt CFR for small coils, down $10/mt from the initial offer. Russia-based NLMK has sold limited lots at around $945-950/mt CFR and closed sales for September production. Initially, the supplier was targeting $960/mt CFR minimum and voiced even $980/mt CFR to some customers. MMK is still standing at $950/mt CFR, with no deals reported just yet.
Ex-India offers have decreased by $10/mt over the past week to $930-940/mt CFR, with no transactions heard just yet.