While the domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in Turkey have remained relatively stable and at high levels, buyers seem to be still interested in dealing for Chinese origin material. Although import prices increased by around $20-50/mt over the past week, the gap with domestic offers in Turkey is still up to $200/mt on average.
In the import segment, Turkey seems to continue buying HRC from China, in addition to 200,000-250,000 mt booked from the end of February. There is information in the market about an additional volume of up to 100,000 mt purchased this week, mainly at $1,020-1,030/mt CFR, but some sources say that bookings started from $1,000/mt CFR and that the confirmed volume is around 30,000-35,000 mt for now. “They are buying due to the huge price difference with local prices. They can pay nine percent duty and sell to pipe-makers for the local market,” a trader said. Current offers for SAE1006 2mm HRC for mid-June shipment are at $1,025-1,055/mt CFR depending on the tonnage, while lower levels are available for thicker material, SteelOrbis has learned. No fresh deals have been heard from India, while the offers climbed to $1,100-1,120/mt CFR for May shipments.
As for the CIS, clearly there are no offers from Ukraine, but some Russian material is said to be available despite the sanctions. According to sources, around 12,000 mt were booked from NLMK at $1,040/mt FOB, while the most recent offers have been reported at $1,090/mt CFR. MMK is voicing $1,080/mt FOB Russia for now, with no takers around, given the risks of sanctions and competitive ex-Asia offers. Market sources say MMK intends to give up to 300,000 mt of HRC for exports in this round of sales, following a few months of absence. “There is no way they can sell all of it here, even if there are some buyers ready to work with Russia. Some volumes will certainly be redirected to Asia, Vietnam in particular, but the workable prices will definitely be much lower than the ones we see here, in Turkey,” a trader told SteelOrbis. While focused mainly on imports from Asia, Turkish buyers are still trying to evaluate the situation with Russia. “The payment terms and the shipment are important. To arrange vessels, nobody wants to take risks,” another source said. In the meantime, it has been reported that at least one of the Turkish mills booked slabs from NLMK at around $900-910/mt CFR.
The domestic HRC offers in Turkey are at $1,200-1,250/mt ex-works, mainly for June deliveries, though some volumes for May are also available. Some sources state that under the table it is possible to deal at $1,180/mt ex-works. As regards exports, around 5,000 mt were traded to Europe and around 10,000 mt to Iraq at $1,200/mt FOB, SteelOrbis has learned. In addition, a small lot was sold to eastern Europe at $1,250/mt FOB, sources say. In the meantime, mills say that their prices are largely not-workable in the EU for large and medium cargoes, given competitive offers from India and the valid AD duty for ex-Turkey material. As for India, there were deals to Europe at $1,090-1,100/mt CFR and the most recent transaction has been rumored at $1,100/mt FOB.
