Turkey’s import hot-rolled coil (HRC) segment continues seeing mainly ex-Asia offers and the levels are quite aggressive in order to attract buyers’ attention. While some deals are being closed and some lots are under discussion, ex-Asia HRC prices are a minimum $50/mt lower than the local Turkish indications. Turkey is trying to keep its official offers high, taking into account the rising energy costs and the uptrend in the import scrap segment.
The domestic HRC offers in Turkey have remained at $660-690/mt ex-works, with some mills voicing $700/mt ex-works and above. However, most suppliers agree local demand is very low and that there is hardly any payer above $650/mt ex-works. “The level of stocks is high in the market and the Turkish HRC price is high, while imports are more attractive, though one will have to find an export buyer [for coated, CRC, pipe] later,” a Turkish market player said.
As SteelOrbis reported earlier, a large cargo was booked from South Korea at $620-625/mt CFR, while the latest offers have been coming at the lower end of the range for November shipments. The same $620/mt CFR price has been reported for India and Japan for the same shipment term. The bid prices from Indian material are at $600-610/mt CFR, sources report. An offer from China has been placed this week for 50,000 mt of Q195 quality at $620/mt CFR, but sources report hardly anyone would buy the full cargo due to challenging market conditions. As for Russia, one mill has decided to step back from offering, while another is at around $600-620/mt CFR for November shipments, and, according to sources, the seller is ready to negotiate below $600/mt CFR.
Many believe there will be more deals for imported material as local re-rolling companies in Turkey would like to buy cheaper coils in order to be able to compete with their products in the export markets. “Turkish HRC is based on higher input costs and they refuse to sell at a loss, which means that their customers will buy elsewhere to avoid their own losses in the future,” a producer told SteelOrbis.
