Hot rolled coil (HRC) producers in Turkey have once again not managed to avoid providing additional discounts in order to spur some demand, also because they are under pressure from low, though stable, HRC import prices from China. Still, business activity in the local Turkish market is rather moderate with only some interest seen from re-rollers, while as regards exports the competition with ex-Asia suppliers over EU buyers is quite fierce.
Currently, the official offer level for HRC in the local Turkish market stands at $680-690/mt ex-works base for July-August deliveries, while $700/mt ex-works is also available for small and prompt lots. Last week, prices in the domestic market stood at $690-710/mt ex-works. Sources report that several medium-sized HRC batches have recently been booked by re-rollers, mainly at $680-685/mt ex-works. “It is most likely that prices will go down further and that we are heading to $670-680/mt ex-works by the end of May,” a trader told SteelOrbis. As regards exports, the lowest reported level is at $650/mt FOB, which is still not workable for the EU. According to sellers, some of them prefer to remain closer to $675-685/mt FOB levels since “the bigger discounts will be painful but will still not create additional demand”.
The import HRC segment in Turkey has been relatively inactive due to the earlier reported bookings. China remains at around $580-590/mt CFR for Q195 grade versus the previous deals mainly at $575-585/mt CFR depending on the seller and the tonnage. Ex-India HRC indications for July shipments are at $600-615/mt CFR, down $15-25/mt over the past week, buyers state. Russia remains out of the market for now since the Russian mills prefer selling flats to their local market or to nearby buyers from the CIS states.
