Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in Turkey have continued weakening, impacted by the low domestic and international demand, slow business in the coated steel segments, and competitive import HRC offers. Moreover, the export HRC prices from Turkey have gone lower than the domestic ones, taking into account a very silent trade on the European destination.
In the domestic market of Turkey, the offers for HRC are now set at $890-915/mt ex-works, down from $905-930/mt ex-works seen last week. Still, some mills indicate $920/mt ex-works official levels, but those are not considered workable. In the export segment, the current workable level is at $870-890/mt FOB, SteelOrbis has learned while some mills are still voicing $900-910/mt FOB. Taking into account the almost non-existent HRC business to the EU, Turkish sellers have been seeking to sell elsewhere. In particular, around 20,000 mt of HRC have been recently sold at $880-885/mt FOB to Egypt. The latest offers to the same destination have been reported at $910/mt CFR with $25-28/mt estimated freight. As of today, Turkish mills are mainly offering for February shipments while some limited volumes might be also allocated for January.
In the import segment, the latest deals from Ukraine have been closed for the small coil at $855/mt CFR, $5/mt down over the week. The producer is said to have closed its December production sales and is now estimating the possible levels for January. No official offers have been reported from Russia for January production, but one of the sellers mulls offering close to $880/mt CFR, SteelOrbis understands.
In addition, according to market sources, last week two cargoes were sold from Europe to Turkey at $875/mt CFR, around 20,000 mt each. Asian offers are also still there in the market with two cargoes being rumored as sold for the Chinese origin at $835-840/mt CFR for January shipment. In addition, traders’ indication for HRC from India is at $870-880/mt CFR, while India-based producers themselves have been avoiding giving direct offers to Turkey, saying the pricing is too low.