Turkish mills have started the new week with lower pricing for HRC with the trend reflecting the situation in the import scrap segment, where prices have continued sliding. As a result, bid levels from domestic flats buyers have declined over the past week as it is clear that producers’ positions are shaky. Another factor is the almost silent HRC demand from the EU as market players are waiting for quota clarifications to be finally announced.
Currently, local HRC prices in Turkey have mainly settled at $615-630/mt ex-works for August deliveries depending on the mill, down $5-10/mt over the past week. Some higher levels are also being voiced in the market, but these are not considered workable anymore. Sources have reported that large buyers are expecting to book at $600-610/mt ex-works base now, while no new deals have been reported yet. As regards exports, some offers to the EU have been reported at $600-605/mt FOB for August shipments, while some indications for September are at $620/mt FOB. “[The issue is] not only about quotas, but demand is also a mess [in Europe]. Customers are pushing for really low prices,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
In the import HRC segment, ex-China offers to Turkey have decreased to around $545/mt CFR, down from $550-558/mt CFR last week. The cargoes are for September shipments and, according to sources, further discounts of $5/mt should be possible. “Buying imports is a risk today since a re-roller does not yet know the potential volume of sales to Europe and cannot really manage or plan imports under the inward processing regime,” a producing source told SteelOrbis.
