Although the highest voiced hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in Turkey have not yet been accepted by buyers, some increase in deal prices has been seen. According to market sources, medium-sized and large buyers have been negotiating for February deliveries this week and some lots have been freshly booked at $480/mt ex-works. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, the indicative offers announced earlier this week were mainly at $490-500/mt ex-works base. About two weeks ago, the workable price level for limited lots was in the range of $450-470/mt ex-works.
On the import side, CIS-based suppliers remain bullish, trying to benefit from the uptrend as much as possible. According to the sources, one of the mills has managed to close some deals for February production to Turkey at $470-480/mt CFR depending on the buyer. As a result, the prices have increased by at least $20/mt compared to the previously indicated offers, SteelOrbis understands.
Higher HRC deal prices are expected to trigger another increase on the slab side. While the latest deals were closed at $405/mt CFR from Ukraine, the sources expect slab offers to hit at least $415/mt CFR next week. However, even though the rolling cost of around $35-40/mt from slab to HRC leaves plenty of room for imports, some sources believe that Turkish mills will hardly book huge volumes as their stocks are sufficient for now.
