Prices continue rising day by day in Turkey’s hot rolled coil (HRC) market, creating more and more confusion among buyers but also among sellers. Low availability, high scrap and slab prices, and decent demand remain the key drivers, but players believe the suppliers have gone a bit too far with their prices.
One Turkish HRC producer is now targeting $730-735/mt ex-works for the local market after having sold in small lots a total of 10,000-15,000 mt, SteelOrbis has learned. Another producer is at $720/mt ex-works, up $10/mt since early this week. However, levels of $710/mt ex-works are still considered achievable in the market.
Higher domestic offers have triggered another increase in the import segment. Russia’s MMK has set its new offer levels at $690-695/mt CFR, up from around $665-670/mt CFR voiced earlier this week. Ukraine’s Metinvest started the week with $670-680/mt CFR depending on coil weight and has been giving rather short validity for prices when negotiating since the market has been rising sharply. Currently, the mill is evaluating the market and is considering to offer $690/mt CFR for small coils and $700/mt CFR for big coils. Some Turkish buyers, however, report they have already received $700/mt CFR for small coils.
