While the effect of falling scrap prices is not as dramatic in the flats segment as it is in the longs segment, suppliers of HRC in Turkey have still been forced to provide discounts under pressure from buyers. In the domestic market, demand has remained at rather low levels despite weaker pricing, while as regards exports some sales have been triggered, but for shipments with shorter delivery periods. In the import segment, some suppliers managed to sell out before the fall in scrap prices, while others are now facing low bids.
Currently, the realistic HRC price level in the domestic market in Turkey is estimated at $580-590/mt ex-works, versus $590-610/mt ex-works seen throughout most of last week. Moreover, slight additional discounts are considered possible since trade seems quite slow at the moment. As for exports, however, according to market sources, a total of around 100,000 mt of HRC had been sold last week to the southern and northern parts of the EU within €635-650/mt CFR effective, duty paid. The level, according to evaluations, is netting back to around $570-575/mt FOB and slightly above. However, this week there has also been information circulating in the market about some offers to the EU at the equivalent of as low as $550-560/mt FOB. “It might be possible if [HRC is] made from cheap Russian slab, but I can’t say it is widespread. Workable - yes; widely available - I don’t think so, not yet,” a trading source told SteelOrbis.
Import offers from China have been hovering at around $480-490/mt CFR this week, up or down by a couple of dollars every other day. The offers are for Q195 of 3 mm and higher for early June shipments. No deals have been reported, but there is a sentiment in the market that $470-475/mt CFR levels might be workable.
Before the information about low-priced scrap deals appeared in the market, a Russian non-sanctioned supplier managed to sell around 40,000 mt of HRC for end-of-May and June shipments. The price level reported stands at $500-505/mt CFR and slightly above. However, some buyers reported some deals at $490-495/mt CFR as well.
Egypt is currently offering at $570/mt CFR for June shipments to Turkey, with no fresh deals reported, taking into account that the bids from the buyers, who are in a rather negative mood, are as low as $550-555/mt CFR. In addition, there has been talk about a medium-priced HRC sale from a Malaysian mill, which is also a duty-free origin in Turkey at $560/mt CFR. However, the information has not been confirmed by the time of publication.
