CIS and Turkish origin
billet prices showed a slowdown since the first week of April till the beginning of May. Turkish
billet was sold to
Middle East, Northern
Africa and
Europe at $405/mt FOB
Turkey late April/early May.
CIS origin
billet was at $380-390/mt FOB Black Sea level. However, after the first week of May,
billet prices indicated an upward trend with the movement in
scrap prices. Last week,
CIS billet suppliers' offers of $390-395/mt FOB Black Sea ports were accepted by the market. Middle Eastern and Gulf region markets accepted these levels and the rolling mills in
Europe concluded bookings at these levels largely due to the rapid increase in Euro/US Dollar exchange rate.
CIS origin
billet was sold to
Italy at $410-415/mt CFR
Italy last week, for July shipment. This week,
CIS origin
billet has increased to $400-405/mt FOB Black Sea levels. The major reasons for the increase in
billet prices are both the demand in the market and the
CIS origin
billet, which exceeded $400/mt level in FOB
Far East ports. The new offers are $10-15/mt higher, but the high level of Euro/US Dollar exchange rate and the continuous increase of
rebar prices in the local Italian market may support these levels to be accepted. Turkish producer Isdemir concluded 85,000 mt of sales to the domestic market through its campaign last week. Furthermore, Turkish producer Kardemir sold 45,000 mt in the local market. Later, Kardemir closed its
billet sales on Friday. This week, there has been no
billet available below $435-440/mt ex-works in the melt shops. Export offers were at $425-430/mt FOB
Turkey. If the
scrap and long product markets continue their strong movements, we can hear sales concluded even at $430-440/mt soon. In the Turkish imported
billet market front, the weak demand for
billet could have picked up with the revival of
merchant bar and
rebar exports. However, Turkish rolling mills did not show any interest to imported
billet purchases due to the
CIS origin billets, which exceeded $400/mt FOB Black Sea level because of strong demand from
Europe and
Middle East. Since Kardemir closed its sales and the expectations for
billet prices keep on increasing,
Turkey's demand for imported
billet may increase in the coming days. Consequently, the current increase in
billet prices seems more realistic than it was at the beginning of April. At the beginning of April,
CIS origin
billet increased to $400/mt FOB while Turkish origin
billet rose to $440/mt FOB; however, there were no bookings concluded at these levels. However, the strong movement of
scrap and long product markets worldwide, the
billet requirement in the Americas due to the strike in
Mexico and the increasing
billet prices in
Far East appear to prove that the price increases in
CIS and Turkish origin billets are realistic.