The domestic business activity in the HRC market in Turkey has been still weighed on by limited demand, taking into account that a lot of buyers refrain from restocking in decent volumes due to already high stocks and low sales of their products. Aiming to boost demand, local mills in a few steps decreased their offers this week, but, despite the discussed information regarding several deals being closed, demand is generally described as insufficient. Mills seem to still have unsold volumes for July production and some of the buyers state that limited allocation can be still found even for June. However, some of the mills have made a move to increase prices at the end of the week, trying to create the needed sentiment among buyers, although mainly it is believed that this will be a failed attempt.
This week, the price policy of Turkish HRC producers in the local market has been varying depending on their sales position, the sizes of orders, and the market evaluations. Overall, the range has settled at $820-850/mt ex-works as per realistic levels, and some sources report around 60,000 mt were booked within these levels. However, the information could not be confirmed by the time of publication. Some buyers report they received $810/mt ex-works from one of the mills, which is the lowest level seen for now.
By the end of the week, a few mills have started to voice HRC offers at $860-870/mt ex-works, trying to take advantage of India’s export duty situation. “At this point, they are trying to create a positive mood in the market, so that the customers decide to buy. But the situation is that stocks are high and it is hardly possible that prices will move up,” a pipe producer told SteelOrbis.
As regards exports, Turkish suppliers have been actively trying to sell to the EU, but the offers from Asian suppliers are aggressive and result in lower bids for Turkish material. In the southern part of the EU, offers from Turkey have been reported at €900/mt CFR, while Asian sellers have been standing at €840-890/mt CFR depending on the supplier. Overall, the export prices for HRC from Turkey, according to sources, are at $820-840/mt FOB, though higher indications have also been heard in the market.
Given the challenging local market conditions and the price decrease seen over the past week, the number of negotiations with foreign HRC suppliers has been minimal. According to sources, ex-India and ex-China offers stood at $830/mt CFR, which is not workable compared to domestic prices in Turkey. Russians remain present in the market, visiting customers and trying to sell cargoes, targeting $750-770/mt CFR for June shipments. However, some of the customers report the workable levels should be below $700/mt CFR. “[With Russian origin] I’m taking a huge risk, so I have to earn money in order to cover it,” a producer told SteelOrbis.
