Most billet buyers in Turkey are relatively silent this week with only several deals heard for relatively short lead times as buyers are not willing to accept excessive risks. Import scrap prices have been rather firm lately, but the trend is not yet settled enough in order to trigger active billet demand on the import side. “There is a huge gap in the shipment period when China is for the end of August and September, which means arrival in early or late October. Others [Black Sea, North Africa] are for early August arrival, so it means a difference of one to two months in arrival. It is huge,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
Chinese billet has mainly been on offer at $452-455/mt CFR this week for August shipment, down from $455-460/mt CFR a week earlier. According to sources, an Izmir region-based mill has purchased a full cargo at $450/mt CFR for late July shipment, while some sources assume the price was $448/mt CFR. Indonesia is not firmly in the market due to its long lead time, with the indicative price for October production at $430/mt FOB, which translates to around $465-468/mt CFR. Malaysia, according to some buyers, is in the market with 150 mm billet for August shipment at $490-495/mt CFR.
Ex-Ukraine billet is currently offered to the Marmara and Izmir regions of Turkey at $490/mt CFR for July shipments, while earlier one of the mills insisted on $495-500/mt CFR for 10,000-15,000 mt lots. No deals have been reported yet, while negotiations continue. In addition, according to sources, after a long break an ex-Algeria 30,000 mt billet cargo for July shipment has been sold at $452/mt FOB with the freight to Turkey estimated at $20-22/mt. Sources assume the buyer is located in the Izmir region.
Russian billet has also been favoured by some Turkish buyers. Following deals at $451-455/mt CFR reported last week, the current offers are at $455/mt CFR. Fresh deals for ex-Russia material have been reported at $450-453/mt CFR, while sales from Donbass have been closed within $445-450/mt CFR. Both origins are for material with prompt shipment. The SteelOrbis reference for ex-Russia billet to be shipped from the Black Sea is now at $425-433/mt CFR, with the midpoint at $429/mt CFR, which is down $2/mt over the past week.