The billet market has remained sluggish in Turkey and the price increases targeted by suppliers have not been achieved. Instead, prices have moved down under pressure from lower scrap prices, slow rebar sales and plentiful availability of imports.
Turkey’s Kardemir finally opened its long-awaited billet sales in the local market and reduced its price by $39/mt to $678/mt ex-works for S235JR grade and to $683/mt ex-works for S420-B420 grade. Despite the provided discounts, buyers found the price reduction to be insufficient and booked only around 18,000 mt of billet. The sales are now closed and Kardemir is expected to announce a new round of sales shortly. In other regions of the country, some producers have been ready to sell at $680-690/mt ex-works, but some bids are at $660-665/mt ex-works, SteelOrbis has learned.
Generally, the mood in the billet market in Turkey is negative due to decreasing scrap prices and aggressive import offers. Traders have been offering at $630/mt CFR for Russian origin billet, with the most recent sales closed at $626-627/mt CFR for a total of 60,000 mt to two buyers and at $630/mt CFR for 3,000 mt. However, the latest bids have been reported at $620/mt CFR maximum.
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