Billet pricing in Turkey has remained firm partly owing to the somewhat limited allocation and supported by the cautious uptrend of prices in the import scrap segment. Locally, sizeable sales have been concluded and some more are expected. In the import segment, demand is seen mainly from the small buyers’ side rather than from the steel mills.
Billet offers in Iskenderun are voiced at $380-385/mt ex-works and above, while some deals are expected to be closed in this range, SteelOrbis understands. In Izmir and Marmara, the levels are higher, at $390-400/mt ex-works. The Karabuk region-based mill sold 110,000 mt of billet yesterday, October 22, at $385-390/mt ex-works for deferred payment.
In the import billet segment, demand is mostly coming from re-rollers, who have been hungry for small lots with short lead times. As a result, some limited volumes have been sold to the north of Turkey at $383/mt CFR, and more are expected to be sold at around the same level or slightly above. Steel producers in Turkey are not foreseen to be active in imports for now. “I don’t think anyone will pay far above $370-375/mt CFR today,” a source told SteelOrbis. Offers for large billet volumes are reported mainly at $385/mt CFR and up to $390/mt CFR, up $10/mt over the past week.