Import slab prices have fallen sharply in Turkey, impacted by the low buying activity in the flats segment, aggressive hot rolled coil (HRC) import offers and the resulting discounts in the local market. In particular, Chinese suppliers have dropped prices sharply, though a majority of Asian sellers, while facing low prices in their own region, are not satisfied with Turkey’s price ideas and prefer to concentrate on the European market where profits are higher. However, some Russian suppliers, not having much choice of where to sell due to sanctions, have agreed to sell to Turkey at discounts.
According to sources, a limited slab lot was sold to Turkey by a sanctioned Russian mill at $570/mt CFR to be shipped from the Black Sea region, while previously one producer was aiming at $610/mt CFR around 10 days ago. Another Russian mill is still targeting around $610-620/mt CFR, which is not considered workable.
Asian suppliers are also in the market with offers, but they seem to find no interest among Turkish customers. Ex-China slab prices have dropped by $40/mt over the past fortnight to $590/mt CFR, while Indonesia, according to sources, is in the market with $610/mt CFR, down $20/mt over the same period.
Other ex-Asia sellers seem to be uninterested in offers to Turkey given the negative market mood. Some of them have been staying away from offering to Turkey, still believing that they will be able to find better prices in Europe, where, however, demand has remained limited. The tradable price for ex-Asia slabs in Europe has been assessed by market sources at hardly above $650/mt CFR, while in early April large sales of ex-Indonesia slabs were concluded at $660-665/mt CFR. No new deals have been reported from Asia to Europe over the past week as suppliers are considering to sell HRC and after that to evaluate slab export sales.
In Asia, the mood has been extremely bearish with the recent fall in Chinese flat steel prices. The SteelOrbis reference price for imported slabs in Southeast Asia has been lowered to $550-600/mt CFR with the midpoint at $575/mt CFR, down by $10/mt over the past week with the lower end of the range slipping by $20/mt. Most market sources believe that it will be hard to find bids in Southeast Asia at above $550/mt CFR “with the current HRC prices”, a trader said. Asian slab importers will still try to find cheaper sourcing from Iran or Russia, while ex-ASEAN mills, which hold indicative offers at not below $600/mt CFR, will continue to focus on distant markets.
