The number of negotiations for hot rolled coil (HRC) in Turkey has decreased significantly in the current week ahead of the holiday period, due to previously concluded bookings and the rather stable pricing from China. Turkish domestic HRC offers have increased further this week, but mainly in the officially targeted levels, while buyers’ workable price ideas have hardly changed. Trade is expected to intensify in early July after the holiday and once the financial situation in the country gains more clarity.
In particular, some mills in Turkey have started to voice $705-710/mt ex-works for September deliveries, up from $700/mt ex-works targeted a week ago. The others are mainly at around $680-690/mt ex-works for August, but $670/mt ex-works is still considered workable by some buyers. “No one is in real negotiations, so these levels do not make sense,” a trader said commenting on the recent high prices. In the export segment, the situation is quite difficult for Turkey due to the limited demand and the competition with Asia in the EU. The latest ex-Turkey HRC prices have been reported at $630-650/mt FOB.
Locally, the Chinese have remained at $590-595/mt CFR in offers for Q195 HRC, while some traders have reported offers at as high as $600/mt CFR and possible workable levels at $580-585/mt CFR, which is in line with last week. Indian mills have basically retained their offers at $630/mt CFR, with $5/mt discounts possible. However, these are not attractive for Turkish buyers. Russian producers prefer to stay away from the HRC trade due to the decent domestic demand and pricing. Some of them are concentrating on steel slab exports, which have also been difficult recently.