In Turkey, billet business activity has been mainly silent this week, following several import and local deals closed last week. The election has been passed to the second round and so political tensions remain as does the cautious sentiment in the steel market towards new purchases. A few negotiations are seen with Asian billet suppliers, while the Russians are almost entirely out of the picture for now. As a result, import offers have stabilized since there are no active negotiations. In the domestic market, trade has also been low, limited by weak demand, but also by the exchange rate situation, affecting both semis and longs sales and purchases.
Turkey’s integrated Kardemir has announced new billet sales at the official level of $620-625/mt ex-works for 150 mm x 150 mm material depending on the grade. It is worth mentioning that the producer is using the official exchange rate of $1 = 19.76, as in yesterday’s rebar sales, while the realistic rate is higher, which is making the real billet price much lower than the announced one.“Import and other local options you can buy at the $20.75 rate, only with Kardemir can you buy still at the $19.75 rate,” a source told SteelOrbis. For now, no sales by Kardemir have been reported.
As for the others, billet sellers in the Iskenderun region are at $600-605/mt ex-works still, although buyers believe $590-595/mt ex-works levels are still possible. One of the Izmir region-based suppliers is offering at $600/mt ex-works, while in the Marmara region a small supplier is at around $620-625/mt ex-works, which is not workable at the moment.
In the import segment, most of the Russian and Donbass billet suppliers remain inactive, mainly due to limited allocation and the uncertain market situation. The price idea for prompt-shipment small cargoes is at $570-575/mt CFR, versus $558-559/mt CFR deals closed earlier, but the serious negotiations are set to start next week, SteelOrbis understands. However, such levels are considered to be a bit on the high side for now, while for the larger ex-Russia and small Donbass lots the expectation is at $550-565/mt CFR still. The SteelOrbis daily reference price for ex-Russia billet has remained stable for now due to the absence of activity at $520-535/mt FOB.
Aside from Russia, there are still valid offers for ex-China billet at $550-560/mt CFR, in line with the levels early this week. On the other hand, the latest offers for Malaysian billet, which is a duty free origin for Turkey, have been set at $565/mt CFR, although earlier some targets were exceeding $580/mt CFR. The most recent level is considered to be a relatively acceptable one, but buyers are not in a rush to conclude deals.