Hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the local Turkish market have been relatively stable in offers this week, though reportedly being negotiable. The domestic mills, in the market to sell for October production, are not in a rush to provide significant discounts, especially now when the number of import offers is limited and ex-India suppliers are not so aggressive compared to the previous week.
In the local market in Turkey, the mills’ offers for HRC are mainly reported at $1,150-1,180/mt ex-works, similar to last week’s levels. The lower end of the range is considered by many to be a more realistic level, while the upper end is mainly considered to be an indicative one. Some sources have been reporting $1,120-1,130/mt ex-works levels are achievable in the Turkish market, but the information has not been confirmed by the time of publication.
In the import segment, there seems to be no more aggressive offers from India. Following the deals at down to $1,020/mt CFR closed last week for ex-India HRC, today one of the mills, according to sources, is back offering $1,065-1,070/mt CFR for end-of-August shipments. Russian mills are mainly waiting to announce firm offers, aiming to evaluate the current market situation. The latest price for small coils from Ukraine was reported at $1,050/mt CFR at the end of last week, but the offer might be updated shortly, SteelOrbis expects.
It is worth mentioning that along with the HRC segment ex-India suppliers have been present in the Turkish market with slab offers at $950-965/mt CFR depending on the supplier. The level seems to be of not much interest for the buyers, taking into account that CIS-based mills are standing at $960-970/mt CFR.