The square billet market remains quite positive in Turkey with the strongest activity still seen in the Iskenderun region. At the end of last week, a steel producer in the region traded close to 15,000 mt of billet at $618/mt ex-works, up from $609/mt ex-works transacted at the end of December. The supplier’s new offer has been set at $625/mt ex-works. Some sources report a 5,000 mt lot has already been traded at this level, but the information has not been confirmed by the time of publication.
No firm offers have been heard in the import billet segment as suppliers from the CIS have been just returning to the market after the long holiday. Most market players believe the workable level will be at $610-615/mt CFR, while before the holiday most of the large CIS-based suppliers were voicing $620/mt FOB.