Turkey’s HRC prices are moving in different directions, influenced by diverse factors depending on the segment. In the domestic market, price levels have stabilized in official offers at $585-600/mt ex-works from most mills, with deals for small and medium-size lots being closed at the lower end of last week’s range of $575-585/mt ex-works. As regards exports, however, some mills have been raising their prices, following concerns in the EU about possible delays in shipments from Saudi Arabia and Asia. “There are some rumours about certain shipments from India that will be delayed, arriving after July 1,” a source mentioned. As a result, some players consider Turkey to be the obvious choice if substitution of some cargoes is required, which has led to most Turkish mills currently offering at $590-605/mt FOB for May shipments, up $10-15/mt from early last week in official offers. According to sources, around 10,000 mt have lately been sold from Turkey to a non-EU destination at $590-600/mt FOB.
Import offers from China for Q195 have been set at $510-515/mt CFR early in the current week, with cargoes available for late April shipments. It seems there are not many takers now for Asian origin HRC, considering the overall uncertainty regarding maritime operations in the Red Sea and overall tensions in the Middle East. Along with the risks of delays of delivery and war-related risks, freight has increased by around $10/mt since before the holiday period in China. “It is a risk to buy for May [deliveries] when we cannot even see into the coming one to two days. People will wait or will opt for closer origins with shorter lead times,” a Turkish customer told SteelOrbis.
In particular, Russia HRC is reported to be in demand in Turkey with the price levels targeted for non-sanctioned material at $515-520/mt CFR for April shipment. Some buyers expect the non-sanctioned Russian mill to increase its offer levels under the current market conditions. Others believe that Turkish buyers may consider it risky to buy from Novorossiysk following the recently reported military strikes on oil industry facilities located in the area. “Following the last attacks on the Novo region, [the transportation cost] is by 20-30 percent. Not many ship owners are willing to go there,” a trader commented. Overall, sources report that freight rates are now at $26-28/mt for 10,000 mt lots to the Marmara region and up to $30/mt to the southern parts of Turkey.
In the meantime, Egypt is back in the market with HRC offers for April-May shipment, with the Egyptian mill’s offers to traders for Turkey at $590-595/mt CFR, with around 15,000 mt reported to have been sold within this range. Some sources, however, report that traders’ price for Egyptian material stands roughly at $595-600/mt CFR, including additional costs. No HRC offers from Malaysia have been reported in the Turkish market yet.