Billet buyers in Turkey have accepted a slight price increase from mills in the local market, while in the import segment they are still being cautious, waiting for additional scrap deals. According to sources, an Iskenderun region-based mill has traded 9,500 mt of billet domestically since the end of last week. Some sources report another 10,000 mt have been sold at $575/mt ex-works recently, but the information has not been fully confirmed by the time of publication. Kardemir is expected to announce its sales on February 17. Sources foresee the mill will offer at $570-580/mt ex-works, while some believe the price may be higher taking into account Kardemir’s current profile offers.
In the import segment, business activity has been slow with offers heard mainly at $560-565/mt ex-works. Despite some rumours of sales at these levels closed by traders, most market players agree that real bids would be still $10-15/mt lower than those levels. It is also worth mentioning there is information about a sale from the CIS to an Iskenderun region-based mill at $555/mt FOB. The deal has not been fully confirmed, but some sources believe it may have been done for wire rod grade billet, which implies some extras being included in the price.