In Turkey, where domestic HRC offers have once again remained unchanged from the levels of the previous several weeks, pricing in the import segment has remained more volatile. Moreover, as expected, some interest has been seen in ex-Black Sea material, while the new, reduced offers from China may gain acceptance as well.
Import HRC offers from China have been reported at $475-477/mt CFR for non-VAT material, while some sources have even noted these have dipped below $470/mt CFR from some traders. The regular ex-China HRC offers have dropped by around $10/mt over the past week to $480/mt CFR. The cargoes are available for December shipments. Ex-Malaysia HRC offers for January shipments are mainly reported at $530-535/mt CFR, with no serious negotiations seen yet, but the price is viewed as workable. No fresh ex-Egypt offers have been reported, while the latest deals were closed at $547/mt CFR Turkey.
Ex-Russia material has as expected drawn the attention of Turkish buyers, being one of the few available origins with a relatively short lead time. According to sources, non-sanctioned material for December production and January shipment has been sold to Turkey at $483-490/mt CFR. However, some buyers report $480/mt CFR has also been accepted by the mill for some lots. The sanctioned HRC from Russia is offered to Turkey at $470-475/mt CFR for December production, while buyers seem to have been targeting $5-10/mt lower, SteelOrbis understands. As a result, sources report around 20,000 mt of HRC were sold to Turkey at $460-465/mt CFR, but the information has not been fully confirmed by the time of publication.
Domestic HRC price levels in Turkey have remained stable at $535-545/mt ex-works with $550/mt ex-works also offered to the market for deliveries due in January. Still, nothing above $535-540/mt ex-works and CFR Marmara is considered workable at the moment. As for exports, Turkey continues to offer at $530-540/mt FOB for end-of-December and January shipments.
