Hot rolled coils (HRC) of several origins are on offer to Turkey currently, but the price increase attempted by sellers has puzzled buyers as it has been a very sharp one.
Ukraine’s Metivest is in the market with $480/mt CFR for small coils this week, up by $5/mt from the level rumored in the market a couple of days back and up $30/mt from deal prices in the pre-holiday week. Russian mills are mostly staying away for now. No solid offers have been yet heard from NLMK and Severstal plans to focus on the EU markets for now. However, MMK, which has been absent from the market for a while, is currently checking buyers’ bids and, though not offering firmly, has no intention to sell below $475-480/mt CFR, SteelOrbis understands.
Alternative suppliers are in the market too and again with high levels. According to sources, ex-EU HRC is available at $495-500/mt CFR in Turkey. India, which is not much interested in sales to the Mediterranean, is offering $505/mt CFR.
According to sellers, bids vary from $460/mt to $480/mt CFR, but no deals have been reported yet. However, the HRC market in Turkey is expected to remain strong.
