Prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) in Turkey remain under pressure due to low end-user demand locally and subdued exports to the EU. As a result, though the official offers have remained high, mills have started to show some flexibility in negotiations with large customers.
While the official offers are still mainly at $440-445/mt ex-works for domestic buyers, some negotiations have been reported at $430-435/mt CFR Iskenderun, which corresponds to around $425-430/mt ex-works, sources estimate. Generally, pipe-makers and re-rollers are not ready to pay far above $415-420/mt ex-works for August-early September deliveries.
A similar situation is seen in exports. The official levels are almost the same as domestic offers, while some producers are reportedly ready to deal at $415-420/mt FOB for September shipments in the event of any firm bids. Demand in the EU has been very slow with some bids for 10,000-15,000 mt at $400-410/mt FOB reported in the market.
In the import segment, suppliers from the CIS are about to announce solid offers for August production for the Turkish market, but some mills have decided to stay away from sales in the coming round. Ex-Ukraine offers for small coils have been voiced at $420/mt CFR, down $5/mt over the past week. The Ukrainian price for big coils is estimated at $430/mt CFR, SteelOrbis understands. Russia’s NLMK, according to sources, has not yet announced firm offers, but buyers expect to hear offers not much lower than $430/mt CFR. MMK has decided not to offer HRC for export for now, enjoying lively demand in Russia and the CIS.
