During the past week, Turkish steel mills’ domestic billet prices have increased by $15/mt on the lower end and by $10/mt on the upper end to $460-465/mt ex-works. The decline seen in electrode supply has caused EAF-based producers’ demand for billet to accelerate and so availability of billet in the local Turkish market has declined slightly. Meanwhile, SteelOrbis has been informed that a Turkish steel producer concluded a billet sale to its domestic market towards the end of last week at $465/mt ex-works.
Having softened slightly at the beginning of the current week, Chinese billet export offers are currently moving up again. They have increased by an average of $7.5/mt during the past week to $470-480/mt FOB. This rising trend seen in Chinese billet export quotations is also providing support for the upward movement of both ex-CIS and Turkish domestic billet prices.
Besides the increases in Chinese billet quotations, ex-CIS billet export prices are also continuing their upward movement on the back of the ongoing strength of global scrap prices and the rising demand of EAF-based producers for billet as a result of the decline seen in electrode supply. Meanwhile, Egyptian buyers’ demand for billet from the CIS region is still strong, which is another factor contributing to the upward movement of CIS-based suppliers’ prices. CIS-based suppliers’ billet offers to Turkey, where demand is lower than in Egypt, are now in the range of $450-460/mt CFR. It is heard that a billet sale from the CIS region to Turkey’s Iskenderun region was concluded last week at $452/mt CFR. Meanwhile, according to market sources, Turkish buyers are continuing their price inquiries for ex-CIS billet.