Business activity in Turkey’s steel billet market remains moderate and deals are still sporadic as buyers prefer to evaluate the pricing, lead times and their own steel sales’ positions rather carefully. Mixed sentiment in the scrap market and the approaching holiday also influence trade.
While the key CIS-based billet producers have largely been concentrating on sales to China, where they have been able to sell above $360/mt FOB recently, offers to Turkey have mainly been coming from traders and second-tier mills and have mostly been for June shipments. By the end of the week, offers have settled at $365-370/mt CFR depending on the seller and the region. According to sources, the billet originating from the east of Ukraine has been on offer at slightly below $358/mt CFR. The latest deals for 10,000-15,000 mt lots were closed at $360-365/mt CFR for prime quality at the end of last week, SteelOrbis has learned.
In the local Turkish market, a 10,000-15,000 mt sale has been reported in the Iskenderun region at $380/mt ex-works. Some sources say $375/mt ex-works is also possible to get these days. In the Izmir region, some mills have been offering at $370-380/mt ex-works, while the induction furnace-based producers have been standing at $360/mt ex-works, sources say. Karabuk region-based Kardemir is expected to announce new sales after the holiday.
In the export segment, Turkish mills have been reporting inquiries coming from China for 40,000-50,000 mt lots. Earlier this week, bids were at $390-395/mt CFR or around $360-365/mt FOB, but Turkey declined to sell. “It is risky as pricing over there changes fast. And to sell such lots might mean half of your monthly allocation, which it is more logical to sell in smaller parcels,” a trader told SteelOrbis.