The hot rolled coil (HRC) market in Turkey has been rather weak in terms of demand since last week, taking into account buyers’ weak interest, and financial and payment issues persisting in the country. In addition, the holidays are approaching and most sources expect some significant business slowdown during the next week. However, some import deals have been closed due to favourable pricing.
As a result, domestic mills have dropped their local prices by $20-30/mt to around $1,030-1,050/mt ex-works depending on the supplier. Still, buyers' bids, though being rather rare, are around $10-20/mt lower than that, producers say. “Today, no one wants to restock much although the stock levels are generally low. Buyers see the downturn and want to wait so that they do not lose money later,” a trader said. In the export segment, most sources reported levels at $1,060-1,080/mt FOB for October shipments, while $10/mt lower levels are also considered possible.
In the import segment, there has been information regarding around 30,000 mt of HRC having been booked from India. Sources report the trader booked it at around $940/mt CFR, with sales closed to Turkey estimated at $960-965/mt CFR, taking into account the financing costs.
Ex-Russia MMK has freshly traded around 40,000 mt of HRC to Turkey at $945-950/mt CFR, down from official offers at $950/mt CFR. NLMK, according to sources, is aiming to sell its limited allocation at a minimum of $950/mt FOB with freight estimated at a minimum of around $20-25/mt.
Ukraine’s Metinvest has announced $955-965/mt CFR depending on the coil weight this week. The supplier is said to be negotiating actively with buyers, while some say a few deals have already been closed at $950/mt CFR. Over the past week, the mill’s price to Turkey has decreased by $5/mt.