Turkish billet suppliers have continued to keep their prices high, with some having increased their offers over the past week. Moreover, some domestic buyers have already accepted prices above $700/mt ex-works, resulting in further rises in offer prices in certain regions.
Today, October 19, local integrated Kardemir has announced and closed its billet sales after a long absence. The supplier’s prices were set only in US dollars, at $715-720/mt ex-works depending on the steel grade, while many buyers had been expecting somewhat lower levels. As a result, the mill has sold 67,500 mt of billet.
In the Iskenderun region, one producer sold a medium-sized lot at $710/mt ex-works at the end of the past week, up from $690-695/mt ex-works fixed in the earlier closed deals. Another supplier in the region, according to sources, has rejected a bid at the same level and is now aiming to sell closer to $725-730/mt ex-works.
The number of active billet sellers is scarce at the moment with one mill reportedly offering at $740/mt ex-works, although the workable level is estimated at hardly above $720/mt ex-works according to the currently valid rebar price in the region.
In the Marmara region, local prices have increased by around $5-10/mt over the past week to $715-720/mt delivered. No fresh deals have been heard as buyers seem to be seeking to evaluate further market developments, SteelOrbis understands.
Taking into account the current domestic billet price levels in Turkey, foreign suppliers may also have an opportunity to achieve higher prices compared to last week, specifically in the Izmir and the Iskenderun regions. Some market players believe $705-715/mt CFR levels may be acceptable for Turkish buyers of decent volumes from the large mills, although the mentioned sellers seem not to be in a rush to accept those levels. Smaller volumes from traders may be sold at around $700/mt CFR, SteelOrbis understands.
Most large CIS-based billet suppliers have been reluctant to give firm offers for now, seeing rapid rises in Turkey. Last week, a number of mills were in negotiations with customers in Latin America, though no fresh deals have been disclosed so far. “There is no price for billet [on FOB from large mills] in the market now,” an exporter source said. A number of market participants agree that the workable price level for Turkey should already be at $675/mt FOB, but mills will hardly provide such an offer. As a result, even for other outlets, CIS billet exporters will be refusing to give offers below $670/mt FOB Black Sea.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-CIS billet has been increased by $12.5/mt on average since late last week to $670-675/mt FOB. The price range may widen by the end of this week if new deals come to light.