Turkish hot-rolled coil (HRC) buyers have reported another increase in import offers from China for October shipment, based on a slight inch up seen in futures prices. The domestic HRC prices in Turkey, however, have stabilized, taking into account that the mills cannot justify any increase, based on the weak flats exports and declining import scrap prices.
Ex-China Q195 3mm and up HRC for October shipment are now available at $505-510/mt CFR for around 40,000 mt lots, up from $495-500/mt CFR, seen at the end of the past week. Some of the buyers consider $500/mt CFR levels to be also available, however, there are no takers at such a level just yet. Market is filled with talks about some bookings, closed with China earlier, particularly, one of them is said to be for a pipe project with no exact price of a deal being disclosed. Others say that at least one re-roller has booked a medium-sized lot at below $490/mt CFR.
The domestic HRC offers in Turkey have remained at $580-600/mt ex-works base for October deliveries, while higher offers for a shorter lead time have been also voiced in the market.
Turkish re-rollers are having a hard time selling their own flat products, especially hot dipped galvanized (HDG) coils and particularly on exports. As a result, some of them have chosen to provide some discounts. In the domestic market, Z60-70 HDG is now available at $760-800/mt ex-works, $10/mt down from the lower end. On exports Z100 material is at $730-760/mt FOB, $10/mt down over the week. PPGI and CRC prices, however, have remained relatively stable at $900-930/mt ex-works/FOB and $680-700/mt ex-works/FOB, respectively. However, $10-20/mt discounts are considered possible for serious orders.
Turkey’s tinplate prices have decreased from around $1,100/mt ex-works to $1,020-1,080/mt ex-works depending on the seller and the volume.
