The sizeable drop of the import scrap prices in Turkey in the recent sale from the US has expectedly put pressure on the billet segment as well. The US-China trade war situation is also affecting the sentiment in the market. As a result, some of the ex-CIS mills, according to the sources, are ready to deal for exports at $390-395/mt FOB. One producer is reportedly accepting as low as $380/mt FOB Azov Sea. Some producers, however, are still refusing to go below $400-405/mt FOB for September production, SteelOrbis has learned.
Price idea from the traders and some end-users is generally not exceeding $380-385/mt FOB, but no deals or active negotiations were heard. “There is no buyer in the market this week, the moods are extremely negative,” a seller told SteelOrbis. “How low we go will depend on the further scrap trend and the size of the billet allocation, available in the market,” he added.
The demand in the Mediterranean region is low with Turkey seeking to pay $400/mt CFR and below. Latest deals to Egypt were heard at $415-417/mt CFR while no serious orders from Algeria were reported around. In the Far East, the business activity is livelier, though prices have weakened by around $5/mt over the week. Russia’s key supplier to the region sold at $435/mt CFR, while India remains aggressive with $425/mt CFR in the latest deals. The equivalent for the Black Sea cargoes is estimated at $385/mt FOB maximum; another issue is that the transactions in the Asian markets are handled for medium-sized lots these days, while the shipments from Black/Azov Sea area would require 40,000-50,000 mt minimum in order to get affordable freight rates, SteelOrbis understands.