Demand in the local Turkish billet market is sluggish, while domestic billet prices have decreased by $5/mt week on week to $430-440/mt ex-works. SteelOrbis has been informed that a deal in the local market has been concluded in the current week for 30,000 mt of billet at $430/mt ex-works.
Although CIS-based producers’ billet offers to Turkey have decreased by $5/mt week on week to $435-440/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has been informed that some traders’ Ukrainian billet offers to Turkey have increased by $5/mt on the lower end week on week to $430-435/mt CFR, for early September shipment.
On the other hand, Turkish mills’ billet export offers have moved sideways week on week to $430-445/mt FOB. Some Turkish mills continue to offer $445/mt FOB, but market sources state that the acceptable price range is $430-435/mt FOB. Even $430/mt FOB Turkey seems high for the North African market when one considers the latest sale from the CIS region to Egypt. As a result, international billet buyers continue to exert pressure on billet offers and Turkey needs to compete against aggressive CIS-origin billet export offers especially in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.