Billet prices have surged in Turkey over the past week with the support of the rapid uptrend in the import scrap segment. Local and ex-CIS billet offers have risen in a few separate steps since last week, hitting and exceeding the level of $600/mt.
At the end of last week, according to sources, there was a sale in the Izmir region at $590/mt ex-works, while in the Iskenderun region sales were done at $585-590/mt ex-works. In the import segment, a deal was closed for 10,000 mt at $580/mt CFR from Russia. Another deal for a similar volume has been reported at $588/mt CFR, but some sources believe it may have been for wire rod grade billet.
As the import scrap price in Turkey reached $435/mt CFR and then $445-447/mt CFR for the benchmark grade, billet offers have also increased and, moreover, have been accepted in the local market. A mill in the Iskenderun region has reportedly sold at $605/mt ex-works, followed by another producer closing a minor lot at $610/mt ex-works. Billet offers in the Karabuk region have been set at $605-610/mt ex-works for now, up from $575-580/mt ex-works in the previous deals by an EAF-based mill. In the Izmir region, billet supply is tight with one mill offering at $600/mt ex-works, but in very small lots.
In the import segment, offers from the CIS have been heard at up to $600/mt CFR, with most market players assessing $590-595/mt CFR as the levels which will become workable shortly. The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-CIS billet has increased by $10/mt since yesterday, February 23, to $570-575/mt FOB.