Hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have continued sliding in Turkey, based on the still rather pessimistic mood in the scrap segment, the lack of domestic demand for flats, and with exports almost stalled. Import offers for HRC from China have also softened a little over the past week while the prices for other origins are stable at high levels, and many believe a rebound is possible in China due to the recently seen rise in futures prices. Others, however, think a cautious optimism in the market would take time to settle if it materializes at all.
In the domestic market, Turkish mills are mainly offering for April and early May production and the current realistic price level for HRC is at $680-700/mt ex-works, down from $690-715/mt ex-works last week. The lower end of the range, according to some of the mills, is mainly for a longer lead time since buyers are hesitant to make purchases at higher risk. some producers are still officially voicing their offers at $710/mt ex-works for April production, but the workable level is considered to be at a lower level. Export offers for HRC from Turkey are now mainly at $670-680/mt FOB, while $660/mt FOB levels are also possible for decent volumes. However, price ideas of buyers in the EU are closer to $620-630/mt FOB, which is not yet acceptable to Turkish mills. “The latest deals from Asia for slab were done at this price level. There is no chance HRC can be exported at such a price unless there is a considerable fall on the scrap side at least,” a market source told SteelOrbis. Early last week, ex-Turkey official indications stood at $680-700/mt FOB.
Import offers from China slid earlier this week from $590-595/mt CFR to $580-590/mt CFR for April shipments. Moreover, some deals have been expected at $570-580/mt CFR, but today’s improvement on the futures side has supported the optimistic mood slightly and some of the players expect a firmer stance from the suppliers. Still, ex-China bookings are strongly anticipated in the short term, given the lack of similar-priced alternatives, even if ex-China offers are to inch up shortly. Particularly, India is in the market with $650-660/mt CFR, Egypt has been offering $665-670/mt CFR and South Korea at $680/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned.
