Turkey’s local hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices have been kept relatively stable, supported by somewhat stronger scrap prices and some movement in Asia after the Chinese holiday. Mills’ prices are standing at $525-535/mt ex-works base for December deliveries, while the buyers assume levels $5-10/mt lower may be possible in the coming round of deals.
As regards exports, according to sources, a 30,000 mt cargo was sold to Portugal at $515-517/mt FOB to be shipped in December. Normally, the official offers are at $520-525/mt FOB as mills are not under much pressure to sell.
In the import segment, according to sources, some large lots were sold from Russia for November production at $490-495/mt CFR. Now the supplier, like Ukraine’s Metinvest, is insisting on $500/mt CFR minimum. It is worth mentioning that the Turkish market expects to see some HRC offers from Japan. Some sources estimate these should be at $530-545/mt CFR, but the levels may gain clarity next week only, SteelOrbis understands.