Turkey may attract significant square billet orders from North Africa which could support Turkish steelmakers’ positions in the current volatile market. Libyan Iron and Steel Company (LISCO) has recently disclosed the intention to purchase 100,000 mt of steel billets and has asked Turkish mills to offer a competitive price.
Mills from Turkey may benefit from this situation, taking into account that billet prices are on the rise owing to the uptrend in the import scrap segment in Turkey. Currently, Turkish mills are aiming to sell billet for export at $420-430/mt FOB for January shipments, while locally billet is priced at around the same level. “Definitely selling billet today is better than rebar,” a Turkish producer mentioned. In addition, Turkey has a clear freight advantage in sales to North Africa.
Market players, however, believe that Libya may also be negotiating with some alternative suppliers, from the CIS specifically. Previously at least 25,000 mt of billet for December shipments were booked by LISCO from Ukraine. In addition, as Libya currently does not have any billet trade barriers in place, its imports may not be limited to only one source.
