On July 12, Turkey’s integrated Kardemir has announced its billet prices at $525/mt and $530/mt ex-works depending on the steel grade, having dropped the offers by $40/mt over the week in one shot. By now, according to sources, the supplier has managed to trade around 35,000 mt, the sales are still open.
Such a sharp price decrease has shocked the market, triggering many re-evaluations of the expectations. “Last week Kardemir sold around 25,000 mt at $565-570/mt and now customers see $40/mt lower prices in just one week. I think some of them will push now for even lower prices in order to make a lower average and to be still able to compete [in finished steel],” a trader said.
Naturally, Kardemir’s move has dragged down the billet price indications in other regions of Turkey. Some of the suppliers in the Iskenderun region have decreased prices to $540-550/mt ex-works from $565-580/mt ex-works, voiced last week. In the Marmara region, the billet price before Kardemir announcement stood at $565-570/mt CPT, but now expected to drop by at least $15/mt.
The pressure in the import billet segment has also increased. The offers for billet from Russia and Donbas have decreased to $490-505/mt CFR from $503-510/mt CFR at the end of the past week. However, the bids from some customers are at $480/mt CFR and even below. The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia billet has decreased by $5/mt from the lower end of the range to $470-480/mt FOB.
Asian origins are also still on offer in Turkey, but the price gap with Russia makes the buyers to consider them as less and less workable. The indications for ex-Malaysia and ex-Indonesia semis are at $540/mt CFR but $530/mt CFR levels are considered reachable.