The Turkish billet market has been silent this week mainly due to an unexpected downturn in the import scrap segment. Semis suppliers from the CIS have been trying to avoid discounts, while Turkish buyers report there are new offers from alternative sources.
According to market sources, ex-India billet offers via traders have been placed in Turkey at $600-602/mt CFR for end-of-April shipments. Moreover, a 25,000-30,000 mt batch has reportedly been sold to Turkey at close to $590/mt CFR or slightly above. In addition, there have been billet offers from Oman and Bahrain at $600/mt CFR for May shipments, which have not attracted much interest in Turkey.
In the meantime, ex-CIS offers have been mainly stable from the past week, but the prices depend on the origin and the lead time. According to sources, billet from the eastern part of Ukraine can be booked at around $590-595/mt CFR, while traders have been offering their position cargoes at $595-600/mt CFR. Large producers from the CIS have been voicing indications at $605-610/mt CFR and above. In the meantime, ex-Rostov billet offers are at $615/mt CFR Turkey for prompt shipments.