While the rebar business has been slowing down in Turkey and import scrap price have been trending down as well, billet has been traded at decreased levels locally. As a result, imports are expected to be scarce as bids have dropped.
Local integrated producer Kardemir has sold 80,500 mt of square billet on October 7 at $413-418/mt ex-works depending on the grade. The price is somewhat unexpectedly low for the market, hence the sizeable demand. In the Iskenderun region, a bit over 5,000 mt of billet were traded at $417/mt ex-works, down by $3/mt from the deals closed at the end of last week. “Billet prices will decrease by $10/mt in Turkey I believe,” a buyer told SteelOrbis.
Lower local rebar and billet prices are naturally expected to drag down bids for import billet to $400-405/mt CFR and prompt shipments would be preferred. Since the CIS-based mills are definitely not yet ready for such prices, business is expected to be slow with only some traders maybe being eager to accept bids in order to get rid of their positions. Steel producers in Turkey are foreseen to focus on their own billet production and to purchase steel scrap.