Import billet activity in Turkey has remained rather dull since buyers prefer to evaluate the potential risks. Price levels have remained relatively stable over the past week on the import side, but have increased in the domestic market, following the strong uptrend seen in the local rebar market. In addition, import price levels have been strong, supporting the positive trend for longs and billet.
Local billet prices in Turkey have increased by another $5-10/mt since last week to the range of $510-520/mt ex-works depending on the region. The highest prices are available from the Iskenderun region-based mills, while the latest deals in the area were closed at $514-519/mt ex-works, SteelOrbis reported. The highest rebar offer prices are at $585-590/mt ex-works Marmara, while in the Izmir and Iskenderun regions the offers are at $565-575/mt ex-works. “We can say that today the gap between local rebar and billet prices is quite healthy, leaving room for margins,” a source mentioned.
Currently, ex-China billet offers for January shipments are at $467-470/mt CFR and some of the suppliers may agree to $465/mt CFR. However, buyers’ price ideas are below $460/mt CFR. “Not many are in the market. The price is a bit high even versus the current scrap price, and the delivery is for the end of February in the best case,” a source told SteelOrbis. There have been no firm import offers from Malaysia, but market players evaluate the possible levels at $490-495/mt CFR. Indonesian billet is available at $435/mt FOB, which is around $475/mt CFR including an extra for manganese.
Ukrainian mills are in the market to sell medium lots - one producer seeks a buyer for end-of-December shipment and another producer seeks buyers for January-February shipments. The prices are currently in the range of $490-495/mt CFR and up to $500/mt CFR, depending on the order. The levels are considered workable, considering also a certain scarcity of ex-Black Sea billet allocation.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia billet stands at $435-440/mt FOB Black Sea, slightly up from last week’s levels of $435-437/mt FOB. Some lower FOB levels could be available from the Azov Sea, but allocation from the Azov Sea is limited at the moment. A few deals for rather small tonnages have been done over the past week to Turkey at $455-460/mt CFR, which is slightly above the previous contracts done for the same destination at $455/mt CFR.
There has been a rumor about a sale of 5,000 mt of ex-Donbass billet at $428/mt FOB Black Sea to Turkey, but this could not be confirmed by the time of publication and most market sources agree that the price on FOB basis appears to be below the current market. “This is only possible for billet left in stock accidentally. They [Donbass mills, occupied by the Russians] have huge problems with electricity and they don’t have fresh billet allocation for exports,” a trader commented. Most mills in Russia are not ready to go below $430-433/mt on FCA basis.