Although some markets are on holiday this week, the hot rolled coil (HRC) segment remains positive in terms of pricing. In particular, Turkey has made an upward move in its local market, while some of the CIS-based mills have increased their prices for European and Turkish buyers. The key reason is the still limited allocation globally, the positive situation in local markets, hopes for China, and surging scrap offers.
Russia’s Severstal has announced a $10-20/mt increase in its export offers for June at $1,130-1,150/mt FOB Baltic Sea for the European market. Moreover, according to sources, the company has sold a total of 60,000 mt of HRC to the EU since last Friday, though the level was slightly lower depending on the exchange rate.
NLMK, according to sources, has decided to wait for next week to announce its offers, while MMK has given an indication of $1,030/mt FOB, up from $1,000-1,005/mt FOB in sales last week.
In the meantime, Ukraine’s Metinvest has announced $1,040-1,050/mt CFR Turkey depending on the coil weight, up by around $10/mt over the past week.
Turkey itself has increased its domestic offers by at least $20/mt to $1,060-1,080/mt ex-works, while some mills are even voicing $1,100/mt ex-works. In the export market Turkey’s prices have increased to $1,070-1,080/mt FOB, up $30-40/mt since late April. Some small lots have reportedly been sold within this range to southern Europe, SteelOrbis has learned.
