Turkish mills have started the week with a $50-90/mt price increase for domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) for June deliveries. The market is still chaotic and will remain like that for a while, as everyone is trying to watch the developments in many segments, which were disturbed greatly by the disruptions in supply from Ukraine and Russia due to the ongoing war. The decisions are being taken out of everyone’s specific market evaluations and restocking needs. The prices for flats are increasing not even day by day but every hour, sources say.
Currently, local HRC prices in Turkey are set at $1,200-1,250/mt ex-works, while one of the mills is offering at as high as $1,270/mt ex-works. The highest deals in the past weeks were reported at $1,180/mt ex-works for small tonnages. According to sources, MMK Metalurji, which is partly dependent on HRC supplies from its Russia-based mother company, is not offering for now. Another issue is the necessity for import scrap among Turkish HRC producers, while the prices for the raw material have hit a record high of $640-650/mt CFR for prime grades. “Not only MMK has a concern regarding scrap, others are also in need because whether their earlier-booked slab cargoes will be delivered now is a big question. So, either you book more scrap or find slab with close shipments or you decrease HRC production,” a large trader told SteelOrbis.
Turkey’s retail prices for flats have also been increasing a lot, following the mills and reflecting the panic and chaos seen in the market. Traders are mainly offering hot-rolled sheets at $1,280-1,330/mt and cold-rolled sheets at $1,400-1,440/mt, both ex-warehouse, up by $25-50/mt and $80-90/mt over the past week, respectively.
In the import segment, the latest deals for ex-China HRC have been reportedly closed at $990-1,000/mt CFR at the highest, in line with the indications voiced at the end of last week. The previous deals (in early March) were signed at $940-960/mt CFR. Sources estimate that over the past 10 days Turkey booked around 250,000-300,000 mt of flats from China, including HRC, CRC and CRFH. No other import offers from Asia have been heard for now, but buyers expect to hear from India, Indonesia and Japan at least.
