Turkey’s import billet market has been reviving after weeks of slack demand and low bids, amid positive expectations regarding China and the rapid price increase for billet and longs in the local market in Turkey. While large mills are trying to evaluate the possible prospects of sales to China in terms of margins, smaller suppliers have already started selling to Turkey.
According to sources, around 6,000 mt of square billet for June shipments have been just sold by DLT to Turkey’s Black Sea region at $650/mt and $655/mt CFR. The supplier’s previous deals were at $610-615/mt CFR last week. New levels are expected at $665-670/mt CFR depending on the regions, but are to be announced next week.
Large mills from the CIS have not yet voiced many official billet offers for Turkey because their eyes are on China. Based on today’s workable levels for import billet in the Chinese market, the ex-CIS prices are estimated at $640-645/mt FOB and may climb even higher. Such levels are not yet considered workable in Turkey, where the freight from the CIS is at $17-26/mt depending on the region of delivery, SteelOrbis understands.
As reported previously, the latest domestic billet deals in Turkey have been closed at $660-670/mt ex-works in the Iskenderun region. Most suppliers are sold out for June and for part of July production.