Having closed the previous week with a rise of around $10/mt in deal prices, to Turkey specifically, CIS-based billet exporters are now targeting even higher levels, taking into account the sharp increase in the scrap segment.
According to sources, in the middle of last week deals from Ukraine for a total of 20,000 mt were closed to Turkey at $545-550/mt CFR or $530-535/mt FOB. At the end of last week, another ex-Ukraine mill sold a medium-sized batch at $555/mt CFR Turkey, which corresponds to $540/mt FOB and is in line with the current SteelOrbis daily reference price.
The current week has started with CIS-based mills being bullish since scrap prices in Turkey have increased to $419/mt CFR in deals and are at $430/mt CFR in offers. According to sources, some billet sellers have started to voice $550-560/mt FOB, while some prefer to evaluate business conditions. “Anything can happen now. The spread between scrap and rebar in Turkey is $200/mt nowadays, which means there is room to increase. I would not be surprised to see $580/mt FOB for billet,” a Turkish trader told SteelOrbis.