Turkey’s import billet market remains rather silent in terms of trade, partly due to earlier concluded bookings. Moreover, a majority of the mills evaluate the workable price levels as being a little on the low side, taking into account their profitability calculations, rebar market prospects, and the individual situation with export licenses. However, some buyers are still ready to pay higher price levels for certain origins, especially with shorter lead times, although this is considered as a rather exceptional case.
Particularly, one of the Ukrainian mills, which had restarted seriously offering square billet to Turkey more or less for first time after the Russian invasion began in February last year, has concluded a deal with one of its regular past buyers. A cargo of 10,000-15,000 mt was traded earlier this week at slightly below $660/mt CFR and is expected to be shipped in April, SteelOrbis has learned. Previously, rebar grade billet was offered at around $665-670/mt CFR, while another mill is in the market with $670-675/mt CFR for around 15,000 mt of wire rod grade billet with no deals reported. “If Ukraine is able to sustainably provide 20,000-25,000 mt of billet per month, it would be a very good and preferred alternative for short lead times and medium lots in the region. Even though it is duty paid, having 5,000-10,000 mt from Ukraine with minimal sailing time is for some buyers better than having to buy 30,000 mt from Asia for a better freight and to wait 30-35 days for it to sail,” a representative of the Turkish mill commented. Overall, it is believed that Ukraine indeed can provide certain tonnages on a relatively regular basis, but only if the workable price is profitable enough.
The ex-Ukraine deal is generally considered to be a bit overpriced, taking into account that most of the mills, though the ones that booked earlier at lower levels, are not willing to pay much above $630-635/mt CFR today for decent lots. This involves Russian material from a large supplier, reportedly on offer at $645-650/mt CFR depending on the region. The ex-Algeria indication has been reported at $645/mt CFR. The closest is the estimated delivered price for an ex-India cargo at $650/mt CFR, resulting from a recently finalized tender for 30,000 mt at $600-605/mt FOB. The highest offer is coming for a duty-free ex-Malaysia 10,000 mt lot at $675/mt CFR, though most of the buyers assume the supplier would go for $660/mt CFR. However, some sources believe the earlier booked 20,000-25,000 mt billet cargo from Malaysia will be topped up with wire rod, not billet. The most recent wire rod offers from Malaysia to Turkey have been reported at $730/mt CFR and above, while the most recent deals have been closed at $710-720/mt CFR.
In the local market, the billet trade has been silent, while the suppliers have been trying to maintain their offers. The price in the Izmir and the Iskenderun regions is at $720/mt ex-works and $690-700/mt ex-works, respectively, while the suppliers in the Marmara region are at $685/mt and $700/mt, both on ex-works basis.