During the past week, domestic billet prices in Turkey have declined by $22.5/mt to $400-410/mt ex-works. Buyers have been putting pressure on the local Turkish billet market with the expectation of a further decline in prices amid the ongoing downward movement of import scrap quotations in Turkey since the middle of last week and also given the declines seen in import billet prices. As a result, buyers in the local Turkish billet market are still concluding purchases only in line with their needs.
Meanwhile, ex-CIS billet offers to Turkey have decreased by $20/mt week on week to $405-415/mt CFR. Turkish steel mills' firm bids to CIS-based suppliers are at $390-395/mt CFR. Demand in Turkey for ex-CIS billet is at low levels as Turkish steel producers consider the current price offers to be on the high side.
Additionally, Chinese billet export offers have fluctuated in parallel with the volatility of iron ore quotations over the past week. At the beginning of the current week, Chinese billet export offers declined by $20/mt, while they have moved up to $430-440/mt FOB after the recovery seen in iron ore quotations yesterday, March 28. SteelOrbis has been informed that Chinese billet export offers have declined by $25/mt compared to the price levels recorded at the middle of last week, while demand for Chinese billet in the international markets is weak.