Domestic square billet offers in Turkey have been reported at $385-395/mt ex-works from most suppliers. Kardemir sold around 65,000 mt this week at the lower end of the range, as SteelOrbis reported. Similar levels were fixed for the medium-sized deals in the Iskenderun region, sources report. Generally, by the end of the week the number of inquiries in the local market has improved but no transactions with the price increase have been reported.
In the import segment, offers have increased by $5-10/mt to $380-385/mt CFR up to $390/mt CFR from some of the mills. A medium-sized lot has been reportedly sold to an end-user at $390/mt CFR for the wire rod grade, which has an extra to it. Same product was on offer from the UK at $400/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned. Normally, Turkey is considered to not be ready to pay for over $375/mt CFR, but the situation might change as the scrap prices may firm up and the CIS-based mills are foreseen to be supported by stronger sales to Asia.