Prices for ex-Black Sea billets have continued to fall this week as overall sentiments have remained negative, scrap prices have retreated, and bids from the main sales destination - Turkey - have come down by $20/mt, SteelOrbis has learned from the market.
Most offers for ex-Russia and ex-Donbass billet have been reported at $470-475/mt CFR Turkey, translating to $450/mt FOB and slightly lower for smaller volumes. This is down from previous deals for small lots done at $480-485/mt CFR for ex-Russia material last week and offers at $490/mt CFR. The softening of offers from Black Sea-based suppliers has followed falling bids from importers, who started to target $460/mt CFR from early this week. “The billet prices continuously creep down. We see bids at $460/mt CFR, but sellers are not ready for this price yet,” a trader told SteelOrbis on Tuesday. But today, Thursday, July 20, a few selling sources confirmed that offers are “all below $480/mt CFR,” and that the real market level is getting closer to buyers’ target price. For instance, a Turkish mill has said that a few sellers are ready to provide $465-470/mt CFR if there are firm bids.
“It seems that scrap will tend to $340/mt CFR, no chance for billet [to stop falling],” another trader said.
Other billet offers than those from the Black Sea have been almost non-existent in Turkey. “Everyone has given up on the market until September because there is no point reducing prices when there is no interest,” a European trader said.
The North African market has remained fully halted as demand is almost absent and a lack of currency has remained the main issue in Egypt.
So, the SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia billet has settled at $440-450/mt FOB Black Sea, down by $10/mt on the lower end and by $20/mt on the higher end since late last week.
Activity in the Far East market has been slightly better recently and two major Russian mills, who ship from Russia’s Far East ports, have managed to sell 50,000 mt in total at $500-510/mt CFR to the Philippines, while one more deal has been done in the same price range to Taiwan.