Turkish hot-rolled coil (HRC) producers still feel relaxed in terms of sales, taking into account some movement in the domestic market in addition to the earlier reported active export sales, mainly closed to Europe and to North Africa. Most of the offers are for October production and even some for November shipments, which means the mills are somewhat relaxed for now. However, the general level of business activity in the domestic flats segment, including cold-rolled and coated steel, is not sufficient in addition to sliding scrap. As a result, the earlier targeted price levels for HRC in Turkey have not been achieved and majority of the bids in the import segment has remained low.
The current domestic HRC offers in Turkey are at $660-670/mt ex-works base for October deliveries, while earlier the mills were trying up to $700/mt ex-works and even above. According to sources, some deals have been closed with the local customers at $650-660/mt ex-works, while some sources report several transactions at even lower levels. Livelier trade in the domestic market, coupled with the previously traded volumes to export markets in the first half of August, have provided Turkish mills with some support. The export prices are mainly at $630-640/mt FOB. “We still have inquiries but [buyers’] price expectation is not serious… Fishing,” a supplier told SteelOrbis.
Import offers for HRC from China have been reported at $575-585/mt CFR this week, $5/mt down from the lower end of the range over the week. Some sources have been talking about a less than 10,000 mt of HRC to a re-roller at around the same level. However, most of the market players assume the level is overpriced since the bids, though for larger volumes, have been at $550-560/mt CFR mainly. Russia’s indications are at around $590-600/mt CFR, which are not considered workable in Turkey. Moreover, some of the sources report there is an increased cautiousness among the European buyers regarding purchasing flats from Turkey, which were made from ex-Russia feedstock, mainly slab. However, the issue might also become valid for HRC and CRC as well, SteelOrbis understands. “In that case more purchases will be made locally and from some import destinations. But in imports we basically have only China for the past couple of months and maybe some Egypt,” a trader told SteelOrbis. Aside from the mentioned offers, there are indications from South Korea at $650/mt CFR, $10-15/mt down from mid-August levels. Egypt is offering its material, which is subject to no import tax in Turkey, at around $660/mt CFR still.