Billet market activity in Turkey is taking its time to revive after the holiday and the number of offers is limited, while both buyers and sellers are trying to understand the short-term prospects. Import scrap prices have not fallen drastically, as had been expected before the holiday, and so the mood of panic has vanished somewhat in the billet segment also, at least for now. Rebar prices seem relatively stable, though exports are quite limited for now, while domestic trading is still slow after the holidays. As a result, bids for billet are still quite rare in Turkey, but they are not as low as they were right before the holiday.
The number of billet indications from Russia and Donbass are scarce, mainly due to the holiday period. In addition, the suppliers are trying to assess the movements in the import scrap segment and the situation with long steel sales in Turkey. A small cargo from Russia for prompt delivery has been on offer at $550/mt CFR to the Izmir region, while previous deals for the same origin had been reportedly closed at $546-547/mt CFR for a total of 10,000 mt around two weeks back. In addition, in around the same period, a small lot of Russian billet was sold at $535/mt CFR Karabuk region, while a large sanctioned Russian mill, according to sources, had traded 20,000 mt at $522/mt CFR. “They have to sell and at times have to accept whatever bids they receive since they have a limited number of buyers ready to work with them even here in Turkey,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
Currently, the realistic offer level for ex-Russia and ex-Donbass billet is at $540-545/mt CFR for end-of-January and early February shipment. For now, there are no low bids heard at around $520-525/mt CFR as before the holiday, and the lowest tradable level for the mentioned origins with non-prompt shipment is assessed at $530-535/mt CFR. The SteelOrbis daily reference price for ex-Russia billet to be shipped from the Black Sea is set at $505-515/mt FOB, up by $5/mt over the past week.
Offers from Asia are also present in the Turkish market and are currently the highest ones. A cargo from Malaysia for shipment at the end of January and beginning of February has been offered at $570/mt CFR, but the bids, being rare, have been voiced at $550/mt CFR maximum. An Indonesian mill has recently sold 20,000 mt of billet to traders at $530-532/mt FOB and it is doubtful that the cargo is destined for Turkey. “For 20,000 mt, the freight would be minimum $40/mt which makes the same price with Malaysia and no one will pay it for Indonesia. Most probably it is a top-up to a previously taken trader’s position,” a source assumed.
Iranian billet offers have been reported at $510/mt CFR Iskenderun region, versus $530/mt CFR offers reported earlier. The lower ones are considered to be for IF material, but the bids of buyers for this particular product are at $500-505/mt CFR.
