The business situation in Turkey’s hot rolled coil (HRC) market has remained unfavorable for suppliers given buyers’ weak interest in new purchases. The customers prefer to keep their restocking at low volumes, aiming to avoid election-related risks, witnessing the overall pressure on prices in the current market. As a result, some of the suppliers remain flexible in their pricing, particularly in the domestic market and export market.
Currently, the local HRC prices in Turkey are mainly at $800-810/mt ex-works and only some suppliers are at $820/mt ex-works, while at the end of last week the levels were $10/mt higher. The mills are mainly offering for June-July deliveries, while some small tonnages can be even allocated for May, particularly for export. If fact, the indications for the export markets are reported to be at $800-820/mt FOB, but these levels may be workable only for small batches and for buyers aiming to cover their urgent needs. According to some sources, a total of 15,000 mt were traded last week at the higher end of the range. For large and medium-sized lots for June shipments, mills report $780-790/mt FOB Is workable and that there was at least one deal at $780/mt FOB to Italy. In the meantime, buyers seem to insist on nothing above $750-770/mt FOB.
In the import segment, ex-China Q195 HRC offers are at $660-665/mt CFR and levels $5/mt lower are reportedly there for longer lead times. The Chinese prices remain the most aggressive in the market and, although no actual deals have been reported just yet, sources believe some transactions are will be seen. “No deals are there yet, but there is some interest and some evaluations,” a trader told SteelOrbis. Some market players assume $650/mt CFR might be workable.
Aside from China, there are offers from India at $720-730/mt CFR, $10/mt down over the week. South Korea is offering at $730/mt CFR, which is almost in line with the previous levels. The latest ex-Russia offers for the sanctioned material stood at $720-725/mt CFR, while the indications for the non-sanctioned material are estimated at $750/mt CFR. However, the Russian allocation in the market is limited nowadays and some sellers will most probably be inactive in the current export sales round.
