Turkish buyers have revealed some moderate interest in billet purchases this week, though by the end of the week the number of negotiations has decreased. Some re-rollers have preferred to restock locally, while some purchased import volumes, dealing mainly with traders and small producers. Sales from the large CIS-based mills have been rather occasional than regular.
Domestic small and medium-sized billet lots have been traded this week in most regions of Turkey. According to sources, a mill in the Izmir region has been able to fix $620/mt ex-works in a sale to a re-roller. An Iskenderun region-based producer has traded a total of around 20,000 mt locally within $620-623/mt ex-works, SteelOrbis has learned. In addition, an EAF-based producer in the Karabuk region has been selling 500-1,000 mt lots at around $625/mt ex-works, market players said.
In the import segment, mainly small deals have been closed by traders and small mills to Turkish buyers. Since late last week, a couple of lots with near shipment dates were traded at $598-605/mt CFR, while the volumes from eastern Ukraine were sold at $596/mt CFR. This week, a Volgograd region-based mill from Russia has sold a couple of lots at $610-613/mt CFR northern part of Turkey. In addition, according to market sources, a large supplier from Russia has recently traded 10,000 mt of billet at $608/mt CFR Marmara, most probably with a near shipment date. In the meantime, some offers have been voiced at as high as $615-620/mt CFR, but with not much interest from the buyers’ side.
As a result, the import prices for billet in Turkey have increased by $5/mt on the upper end over the past week, while local deal prices have improved by around $10/mt since late last week. By the end of the week, the number of negotiations has faded down in Turkey, sources report. Some market players believe that firmer scrap prices are not enough to keep up high prices for billet, taking into account slow rebar sales inside the country. However, some ex-CIS mills are quite optimistic, pointing out that they receive decent demand while scrap prices seem firm.