Turkish buyers have been negotiating with foreign suppliers of hot rolled coils (HRC), after having restocked in the local market. CIS-based sellers are in the market with December production material, with deals expected to be closed early next month.
Russia’s MMK and NLMK are in the market with $510/mt and $515/mt offers to Turkey, respectively, both on CFR basis. The highest bids, according to sources, have been placed at $500-505/mt CFR. Mills, however, intend to insist on the higher levels as they are not under much pressure to sell. NLMK is going to have its regular allocation of 50,000 mt for December or a bit more than that, SteelOrbis understands. MMK is also not in a rush as it has recently sold 100,000 mt to Vietnam. Ukraine’s Metinvest, according to sources, is offering $500-505/mt CFR for big coils. Some sources have mentioned there were sales of small coils at $490/mt CFR last week.
In the local market, Turkish mills have returned to $520-530/mt ex-works levels for December-January deliveries. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, since mid-October deals have been closed at $500-515/mt ex-works depending on the order size and the seller.