Steel billet buyers find prices high, transactions on the scarce side

Last week, Turkish mills' steel export offers remained stable. Some rolling mills have filled their order books for their June production, while some mills have maintained their steel billet export offers for late June and July shipments in the range of $660-665/mt FOB on actual weight basis. SteelOrbis has learned that buyers in the Middle East and North Africa find these prices to be on the high side, and the uncertainty in the market has also caused buyers to show reluctance towards these offers and to delay their bookings for the time being.
 
In the Turkish domestic market, steel billet supply is low and mills' local offers are at $650-660/mt ex-works.
 
In the CIS, some producers have filled their orders books for their June production and are not giving any offers for the moment. Other CIS producers who are giving offers are offering steel billet at $650/mt FOB and above levels. CIS traders state that transactions are scarce and that it is difficult to provide a specific price since buyers are not active. Two weeks ago, CIS traders were offering steel billet to the export markets at $640-643/mt FOB on actual weight basis for June shipments.
 
After the weakening of the euro versus the US dollar, ex-Europe scrap prices were recently adjusted in a downward direction. Since then, steel billet prices have not seen any changes. Steel billet buyers are still adopting a wait-and-see stance, stating that it is difficult to predict the future price trends.