The situation in Turkey’s import billet market has not changed drastically over the past week and only ex-China prices have continued fluctuating, this time inching down from the previous levels. Interest is still seen in the duty-free Malaysian material and, according to sources, ex-Black Sea material may also attract a certain amount of interest. However, allocation is limited, particularly from Ukraine.
An ex-Malaysia billet cargo for April shipment, according to sources, has been recently booked at $486/mt CFR Iskenderun region of Turkey, with a volume of around 20,000-25,000 mt, SteelOrbis understands. In addition, there has been talk about a full cargo booking from Malaysia to an Izmir region-based steel producer at $485/mt CFR. However, this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication, while some sources reported that buyers in the region are looking for $475/mt CFR from Malaysia this week. Moreover, around two weeks ago, a sufficient volume of billet of this origin was booked to the Izmir and Iskenderun regions at $482-483/mt CFR for March-April shipment. In the meantime, both China and Indonesia are offering to the Turkish market at $475/mt CFR, which is a $10/mt decline for Chinese offers from the indicative levels last week.
Ukraine’s presence in the export markets has been limited in past weeks and, according to sources, is not expected to be restored in the short term. One of the suppliers, Metinvest, has not been in the market for some time now. However, the recent accident at the holding’s Kamet Stal will postpone the seller’s return to the market with firm offers. Another Ukrainian mill, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, was offering billet last week at $525/mt CFR to Turkey, while currently no cargo is available, sources say.
Most offers for ex-Russia billets for April shipment have been coming at not below $460/mt CFR Zonguldak for the moment. Some sources have reported a negotiation for a small volume at $455/mt CFR early this week, but this lower offer is not available anymore, a number of market sources confirm. Some small-volume deals for ex-Russia billet are possible, but overall demand is unlikely to be high after sizable local sales in the Karabuk region last week. “With offers [from Russia] at $460/mt CFR, customers in Turkey don’t have too much interest in Asian billet prices, except for Malaysia,” a trader said. The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia billet has settled at $440/mt FOB Black Sea, up by $2.5/mt on average since last week.
In the local market in Turkey, following Kardemir’s sales last week, a Marmara region-based mill is offering $510-515/mt FOB for billet, while in the Iskenderun region the offer prices are at $520/mt ex-works, sources say. Moreover, around 20,000-25,000 mt of billet were sold in the region last week at $515/mt ex-works.