By the end of the current week, Turkey’s workable domestic, import and export HRC price levels have all decreased, signaling that buyers’ positions are currently somewhat stronger than sellers’ positions. China has been weakening since last week and discounts have led to some interest in Turkey, while demand in the EU for Turkish material has been on the slow side lately. In the domestic market, some buyers have pushed for small discounts for end-of-July deliveries, but mills are still resisting any sizeable discounts.
Currently, the offers for ex-China HRC of 3 mm and higher in 40,000-45,000 mt lots for July-August shipments are at $467-475/mt CFR, with the lower end representing non-VAT offers, SteelOrbis has learned. Earlier this week, China’s indications stood at $475-482/mt CFR and, according to sources, one of the Turkish re-rollers has booked a 45,000 mt lot at $470/mt CFR.
Local HRC prices are currently standing at $550-565/mt ex-works base for July-August deliveries in the workable price levels, down from $560-575/mt ex-works last week. In fact, some deals for medium-size lots were reported at $550-555/mt ex-works/CPT Marmara, but the volumes most probably included some ex-stock materials.
In the export segment, the official level of HRC offers from Turkey for July production are still at $540-550/mt FOB with trade still being at minimal levels. However, some suppliers admit that levels of $530-535/mt FOB could also be workable for large lots and specifically for orders with breakdowns including significant size and grade extras.