Turkish mills have remained interested in the steel slab imports from the CIS. Moreover, the buyers have accepted another price increase for the semi-finished product, taking into account the sharp rise of hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in Turkey.
A 20,000 mt batch of slab was recently booked in Turkey at $385/mt CFR from Ukraine (January production), up from $378/mt CFR, fixed last week in two deals from the CIS. In the first half of November, Turkish mills were paying $360-365/mt CFR for slabs. Players believe that higher prices are possible to get in Turkey as the buyers there are rather bullish in their HRC prices. Currently, HRC is offered to Turkey at $450-460/mt ex-works, thus leaving plenty of room for a price increase for slab. “The question is whether Turkey is able to sell HRC at these levels today,” a trader said. Aside from the CIS, slabs from Brazil have reportedly been available in Turkey at $385-390/mt CFR.
As a result, the CIS mills have managed to increase the deal prices for slabs from the average of $340/mt FOB seen last month to $370/mt FOB in the recent transactions. Aside from Turkey, a Russian mill has sold 40,000 mt to Morocco at $370/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned. In Italy, interest in ex-CIS slab is minimal with offers set at $380-385/mt CFR. Overall, CIS mills currently aim to sell at not lower than $370-375/mt FOB for end of January-February shipment.