Ex-Asia hot rolled coil (HRC) suppliers remain the ones active in the import market of Turkey. Moreover, having provided additional discounts, they have managed not only to conclude considerable sales but also to put additional pressure on local mills in Turkey. Despite the gradual production cuts, the workable HRC price from Turkish mills decreased for both domestic and export buyers, though no good trade has been reported this week.
At the end of last week, a 20,000-25,000 mt cargo from Indonesia was booked at $590/mt CFR, while the initial price had been set at $605/mt CFR, for December shipment. In addition, according to sources, a fresh booking for HRC from China has been closed at $570/mt CFR, while last week the deals were sealed at $580-590/mt CFR depending on the grade. Moreover, some market players reported Chinese deals at $565-570/mt CFR, which has not been confirmed by the time of publication. However, taking into account the clear downtrend in China, such a level would not be a surprise. In addition, Vietnam and Taiwan are standing at $590/mt CFR, with no deals reported.
Export HRC prices from Turkey are at $660-680/mt FOB and down to $650/mt FOB for serious orders. “Going much lower than this would mean heavy losses. Therefore, cutting production will cost us less,” a producer told SteelOrbis. The mentioned export price is not considered workable at all, given the aggressive Asian offers to the EU. Particularly, the latest offers are at €620-660/mt CFR, compared to €650-690/mt CFR last week. The lower end of the range corresponds to the prices received by buyers from Italy and Spain.
