It seems that the Turkish and CIS billet markets have this week continued to be influenced by the uncertainty in scrap prices and the weak demand observed in the global finished steel markets in recent weeks.
As of the beginning of this week, a downtrend has still been evident in ex-CIS billet export prices. While CIS producers' billet prices have been at $410-415/mt FOB CIS, it is heard that traders have been offering billet at $390-400/mt FOB CIS. However, market players appear to be hesitating to buy billets since they expect further declines.
Meanwhile, in Turkey billet prices are currently observed in the range of $430-435/mt ex-works excluding VAT, whereas it is known that the expectations in the market are for slightly lower levels. It is thought that the billet markets in Turkey will gain greater clarity (even if just slightly) with the return of Turkish producers to the scrap market.