Billet market activity remains silent in Turkey amid slow rebar sales and approaching holidays

Billet business activity in Turkey has been quiet this week amid the approaching holiday period, but also due to still insufficient sales for rebar in the domestic market. Some decent restocking had been expected ahead of the Eid holiday, but the level of purchases was still not enough. Moreover, some sources expect that the aggravation of the political situation in Turkey might further negatively impact domestic steel demand.

In the domestic market of Turkey, the billet price is at $555-565/mt ex-works mainly in the Iskenderun region, while the latest deal for a small volume closed at $563/mt ex-works. The lower end of the range is up from $530/mt ex-works, which was the level of Kardemir sales for S235JR billet. Local mills’ rebar prices have settled at $588-610/mt ex-works depending on the region, despite certain attempts to increase prices made earlier this week.

Import offers for large billet lots are currently represented by China, with most traders offering July shipments at $525-530/mt CFR, around $5-10/mt down over the week. Considering slow rebar activity, no interest has been seen among Turkish buyers, but if any interest were to emerge, the workable level is assessed at $515-520/mt CFR. Some demand might be seen after the holidays, but this will again depend on rebar sales as well as the trend in import scrap purchases. Despite some pressure expected to be seen from Turkish mills, scrap price levels will hardly decline much.

The billet indications from Russia and Donbass, the occupied territories of Ukraine, are now assessed at $515/mt CFR for limited lots, but some sources assume $510-513/mt CFR levels to also be possible. These might find some acceptance among small buyers after the holidays, while the large Russian billet supplier to Turkey is expected to return to the market in early June. The SteelOrbis daily reference price for ex-Russia billet has remained at $485/mt FOB this week.