This week, Turkish hot-rolled coil (HRC) producers have decided to increase their official domestic offers since they are now feeling less pressure from the market, although the demand has not yet recovered. The key reason is the rebound seen in ex-China offers, while the alternative HRC foreign suppliers are not much present in the Turkish market. In addition, Turkey is now selling HRC for September shipments in the export market and for September deliveries in the local market.
The current HRC import prices from China for Q195 quality and for 3 mm and up thickness are at $600-610/mt CFR and some traders are even targeting $615/mt CFR for August-September shipments. In the past week, Chinese offers stood at $580-595/mt CFR from traders with some minor discounts possible. “I feel like it [the new price level] will not work for the Turkish market anymore,” a seller told SteelOrbis.
Following the higher Chinese indications, local Turkish mills have felt less pressure on their prices. While in the past week large and medium-sized batches were sold at $630-650/mt ex-works base, this week the lowest reported offers are at $650-660/mt ex-works. Moreover, smaller buyers report they started to receive $670-680/mt ex-works offers, which are considered to be overpriced at the moment.
