Following a lull due to the holiday period in the EU and some substantial HRC exports to this destination concluded in previous weeks, Turkey’s HRC export prices have remained relatively stable over the past week, with minor discounts still possible. The low demand in the domestic market in Turkey, however, has pushed down mills’ local prices slightly, even though import offers have mainly remained stable.
Currently, Turkey’s HRC export prices are voiced by producers at $570-585/mt FOB with some of them still sticking to $590/mt FOB, all for June shipment. Some market players report $560-565/mt FOB levels are also considered possible for sizeable lots. In the domestic market, Turkish mills are now offering within the range of $570-585/mt ex-works base, down $5/mt over the past week. The material is mainly available for June deliveries.
Import offers from China have remained at $480-483/mt CFR for Q195 grade of 3 mm and higher and for 45,000-50,000 mt cargoes. No deals have been reported and, with the weakening of the domestic market, fair bids are considered to be not above $470/mt CFR. Egypt has restarted offering after Easter at $570/mt CFR, in line with the previous week, while buyers’ price ideas still seem to be at around $550-555/mt CFR maximum. Russia is not quite in the market, having sold sizeable volumes in the previous two weeks, while the workable level for this origin should not be above $490/mt CFR, SteelOrbis estimates.
