The square billet trade in Turkey has been practically silent this week, with only a few deals closed. One reason is the increased freight rates, which are hard to handle for small sellers. Another one is the decline in scrap prices, which has made buyers hesitant to book now amid the downward expectations. Also, Turkey is about to enter a long holiday period and will return to the market only closer to the end of July.
Domestic billet offers have weakened by around $5/mt this week, mainly under pressure from the decline in scrap prices. The latest deal has been closed in the Iskenderun region for 10,000 mt at $685/mt ex-works and offers are still at that level. In the Marmara region, offers were heard at $680-685/mt ex-works from the local supplier and at the same level on delivered basis from the Karabuk region-based producers. Kardemir did not announce billet sales this week and will most probably return to the market after the holiday. A mill in the Izmir region is said to be offering $685-690/mt ex-works early this week, but may revise its prices shortly.
In the import segment, the CIS-based mills are having a hard time finding normal freight rates, saying those are mainly at $30-38/mt depending on the region and the tonnage. One small cargo for prompt shipment has been sold at $665/mt CFR to the northern part of the country. In addition, there has been a rumor of a sale at $670/mt CFR for around 20,000 mt to the Izmir region, but the information was not confirmed by the seller by the time of publication. “Overall, if you take a look at the local prices, I think $670/mt CFR is a workable level in Turkey, but let’s see how scrap goes,” a trader told SteelOrbis. Last week, the prices for import billet in Turkey were at $670-685/mt CFR.