Hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in Turkey have increased significantly in Turkey, following some sizeable sales locally and for export. The new levels are yet to be accepted. In the meantime, Turkish mills are close to be being sold out for January production.
Currently, the domestic HRC prices for January deliveries in Turkey are set at $435-445/mt ex-works and up to $450/mt ex-works and above, up around $20-30/mt from the sales levels of the past couple of weeks. According to sources, there are no sizeable deals at the new levels, while mills are waiting for the market reaction.
On exports, Turkish HRC is available at $430-440/mt FOB for end-January shipments. According to the sources, since early November Turkey has sold up to 60,000-70,000 mt of HRC to Italy at $415-420/mt FOB as the buyers have been hungry amid the Ilva supply problem. The business activity in Italy’s imports is expected to remain high in the coming weeks, supporting import pricing.
The uptrend in the HRC market of Turkey is first of all supported by higher demand from Italy as well as by scrap being firm. In addition, the slab prices have added around $30/mt from the previous round of sales and Turkey’s cold rolled and galvanized coil prices have skyrocketed over the past two weeks. In addition, mills are said to be almost sold out for January, with some volumes being available for the local market. However, some sources believe the Turkish mills might increase the capacity utilization rates for HRC amid the currently sufficient demand.