Sentiment in the Turkish square billet market has been gradually becoming more optimistic, following sizable rebar export deals and the slightly improved mood in the local rebar market. Moreover, the import scrap prices seem to have bottomed out in Turkey, bringing some optimism to the billet market as well. In addition, the large CIS-based producers are not under much pressure to sell nowadays and have demand from alternative destinations besides Turkey.
In the domestic market, billet prices in the Iskenderun region have increased by $15/mt since earlier this week to $690/mt ex-works from one of the key suppliers. In the Izmir area, some mills are offering at $690-695/mt ex-works, while some have stepped back from the market. Last week, less than 10,000 mt were sold in this region at $687.5/mt ex-works, as SteelOrbis reported. In the Karabuk region, buyers are waiting for Kardemir to announce sales on June 10 with the price anticipated within $670-675/mt ex-works. In the meantime, another supplier in the region has been offering $675/mt ex-works as of today. Some sources, however, report that some mills in Turkey have withdrawn their billet offers for now, most probably aiming to revise them upwards in the near term.
The situation in the import segment has been somewhat mixed as offers from the mills and traders vary. The large CIS-based producers are quoting $680-690/mt CFR to Turkey, up by around $10/mt over the past week. The CIS-based sellers are not in a rush to accept low-priced bids from Turkey, having decent demand coming from other markets, Latin America in particular. On the other hand, traders, who trade minor volumes and are basically bound to sell to Turkey, have been offering at $665-675/mt CFR to Turkey for now. “If the situation improves further, they [the traders] might sell at better prices. But it seems today hardly anyone will pay far over $670/mt CFR,” a source told SteelOrbis.