Having declined to $525-530/mt ex-works last week, domestic billet prices in Turkey have remained at the same levels over the past week, though offers in the market have started to be heard mostly on the high end at $530/mt ex-works in the same period.
Despite the $15/mt decline recorded on the lower end of ex-CIS billet prices which are currently at $500-510/mt CFR, the tight billet supply in the local Turkish billet market has caused domestic quotations to move sideways over the past week.
The Turkish mill which concluded a sale to its domestic market on Friday, February 2, for 30,000 mt of billet at $526/mt ex-works concluded another domestic sale on February 6 for 20,000 mt of billet at $530/mt ex-works. This development has supported the opinion that the declining trend of the local Turkish billet market has come to a halt and also contributes to the expectations of a change in the market’s direction.