With import scrap prices in
Turkey increasing by an average of $18.5/mt since February 3 following the previous overall decline of around $75/mt recorded in January, Turkish
billet producers' production costs have increased, leading them to raise their domestic
billet offers by $10/mt this week. As a result, domestic
billet prices in
Turkey have reached $370-380/mt ex-works, while demand has improved slightly week on week, though it is still at low levels.
Market sources state that Turkish steel mills still prefer to import scrap instead of
billet due to cost advantages. Accordingly, demand for import
billet in
Turkey is still weak.
Following the Chinese New Year holiday (Jan. 27-Feb.2), Chinese suppliers had reduced their
billet export prices this week by $10/mt to $400-410/mt FOB. However, on February 7-8 global iron ore prices have increased and demand for
billet in the local Chinese market has improved slightly. As a result, Chinese
billet export quotations have settled in the range of $410-430/mt today, February 8. On the other hand, Turkish buyers have shown little interest in Chinese
billet for a long time now and no new Chinese
billet deal has been heard in
Turkey.
The rises recorded in global scrap prices since February 3 and the upward movement of Chinese
billet quotations have caused a rise in ex-CIS
billet prices. CIS-based suppliers have increased their
billet offers to
Turkey today by $7.5/mt to $385-395/mt CFR. Meanwhile, Turkish steelmakers still consider this price level to be on the high side and demand for ex-CIS
billet in the country is at low levels.