Billet prices in Turkey have climbed upwards over the past week, following the uptick in the scrap segment and the ongoing limited allocation for billet. Re-rollers remain active in buying, while steel mills for now prefer to restock in scrap.
Domestic origin billet is still preferred by Turkish buyers owing to short lead times. As a result, up to 35,000 mt have been sold in the Izmir region at $405-420/mt ex-works, SteelOrbis has learned. In Iskenderun, offers for prompt shipments are at up to $395-400/mt ex-works with buyers reportedly ready to pay $390/mt ex-works for small lots. As a result, the workable prices for billet in Turkey have added at least $5-10/mt over the past week. “It is happening because the mills were producing less and because demand has significantly improved,” a representative of one of the Iskenderun region-based mills said.
Import offers for December shipments are coming at $385-400/mt CFR, unchanged over the past week due to the overall lack of demand for ex-CIS billet in the region. Steel mills are hardly in a position to pay far above $375/mt CFR even despite the scrap price rise. As a result, inquiries keep coming mostly from re-rollers, but they are seeking to buy for prompt deliveries. Some limited volumes are available in the market for shipments in the second half on November, while suppliers’ price ideas are at around $410/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned.
In the export segment, Turkey’s billet offers are scarce and rather indicative, at $385-390/mt FOB.