Hot rolled coil (HRC) suppliers in the Turkish market continue avoiding sharp price decreases, trying to prevent a free-fall in the market despite much weaker scrap prices and competitive ex-China offers. In the import segment, Russia prefers to keep its official prices high, while Ukraine has sold some volumes.
According to sources, last week a Ukrainian supplier sold some 10,000 mt of small coils to Turkey at $745-750/mt CFR for small coils, down from around $760/mt CFR in initial offers. This week, bids have been reported at $730-735/mt CFR. In the meantime, Russian mills continue to stand at $770/mt CFR in their official offers and say that levels $10/mt lower might be acceptable. However, most buyers expect much more competitive prices from Russian sellers, taking into account that there are local offers at $780-790/mt ex-works and some have reportedly been ready to deal at $770/mt ex-works as well, SteelOrbis has been informed.
