The hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in Turkey have rebounded after the holiday, as expected. The key support has come from the positive sentiment in the raw material sectors, as well as from the uptrend in most ex-Asia offers. However, the offers from the Chinese suppliers who have been aiming to sell to Turkey have remained rather aggressive, which to a certain extent has restrained the upward moves of Turkish mills. Now since China has already traded huge HRC lots to the Turkish market recently and may not remain at the same price levels in further offers, Turkish producers may head even to higher local HRC offers. Another supportive factor is the positive expectation in the EU market after the holiday, though it will still be challenging for Turkey to be competitive.
As the first week of the new year nears its end, Turkish HRC producers have set their domestic offers mainly at $710-720/mt ex-works, while a few days back the levels were $10/mt lower. Overall, the local offers have increased by $10-35/mt since before the holiday. Mills claim they are sold out for February deliveries and are not willing to deal at any level below $700/mt ex-works.
In the import segment, most activity is seen in terms of dealing for Chinese HRC. While earlier the offers were reported at up to $655-660/mt CFR, massive deals have been closed within $640-650/mt CFR, mainly for Q195 quality HRC for February shipments. Most sources assume the total tonnage is around 100,000 mt for now, while some report the volume of the deals may have reached 150,000 mt by now.
“It is the lowest HRC price level one can find in the market today, especially while Russia is not yet present,” a trader told SteelOrbis. Indeed, the latest deal for ex-Russia HRC was closed a week ago at $610/mt CFR for 30,000-35,000 mt which means the seller traded around 60,000-70,000 mt of February production HRC to Turkey at the same price. Another supplier is not in a rush to offer just yet, most probably counting on higher workable levels in the coming days.
Other Asia-based suppliers are at higher price levels. India is said to be offering $685/mt CFR minimum this week, up from $650-660/mt CFR previously. Indonesia, according to sources, is at $660-665/mt CFR, while Vietnam and Taiwan seem to be out of the market for now.