Demand for hot rolled coil (HRC) in Turkey has remained weak and prices have once again softened. However, some mills are already sold out for November production, which may ease the pressure somewhat in the short run.
In the local market, according to sources, some mills have officially decreased their offers from $950/mt ex-works to $920-930/mt ex-works, mainly for November deliveries. However, some sources report $900/mt ex-works is already reachable for decent orders. One of the largest producers is planning to have scheduled maintenance in November for 17 days, and so indicates it is sold out for production in the given month. As regards exports, HRC offers are at $920-930/mt FOB, SteelOrbis has learned.
On the import side, Russia’s MMK is still at $890/mt CFR, with no fresh sales heard. The supplier has redirected large HRC volumes to Asian markets and so is under lower pressure to sell and to provide sizeable discounts. At the end of the past week, Ukraine’s supplier sold small coils at $870/mt CFR, but, according to market sources, the most recent transaction for the same coil size has been closed at $860/mt CFR. However, the information has not been fully confirmed by the time of publication.
It is worth mentioning that, since the end of the past week Turkey-based market participants have been mentioning that the European mills are back with export offers. The levels, as reported by the sources, are at $970/mt CFR and are certainly not workable, but Turkey is concerned regarding the reasons why EU-based mills have decided to export. “Surely they cannot sell here at these levels, but the issue is that if they are trying to export then in Europe the market is not great and Turkey may face trouble selling over there,” a Turkish source told SteelOrbis.