Billet trade in the Turkish market has been rather dull lately with hardly any serious buyer out there to book imports from Asia due to the long lead times. Black Sea-based suppliers have chances to sell, especially Ukraine, and particularly in view of the steel billet cargo that was destined to Turkey and sunk in the Red Sea after the attack by the Houthis. Other than that, Turkish mills are overall not in the market for serious import purchases. “Rebar remains bad in terms of sales and price-wise at as low as $525-535/mt. Mills now are booked for scrap for the first half of August, so in the next 10 days it is time for them to put pressure on scrap prices,” a source told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, import offers have remained relatively stable at the general range of $455-490/mt CFR depending on the origin. Chinese billet is estimated at $465-469/mt CFR for October deliveries, up from $460-465/mt CFR indications last week. Indonesian billet could be traded at $430-435/mt FOB for October shipments, which makes around $470-475/mt CFR including the slightly higher freight rates. Taking into account the long lead time, such an offer is of no interest in Turkey. Ex-Malaysia billet is on offer at $480-485/mt CFR for 150 mm material, while a 25,000 mt cargo which is currently on the water is offered at $490/mt CFR, versus bids at least $20/mt lower.
Ukraine is in the market to sell the last volumes for August shipment, with around 30,000-40,000 mt theoretically available. One of the mills, according to sources, is offering at $490/mt CFR while another is offering considerably above $500/mt CFR.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia billet has settled at $435-440/mt Fob Black Sea, up by $2.5/mt on average from last week, mainly amid some higher offers voiced in the market at the higher end of the range or above. Nevertheless, the tradable level, for the Turkish market in particular, for sanctioned material is still hardly above $455/mt CFR, which translates to $430-435/mt FOB.
Local prices have weakened further by $5/mt on the upper end and the general price range is now at $485-500/mt ex-works base. The lower end represents last week’s sales from Kardemir and, according to sources, buyers believe they can get close to these levels during negotiations with other suppliers. In the Iskenderun region, the price level is $490-495/mt ex-works, while in the Izmir region one of the mills is offering at $505-510/mt ex-works, almost in line with its export indications. However, buyers are pushing for discounts. In the Marmara region, the offers from one of the key steel producers have been reported at $490/mt ex-works. The demand for billet has been rather silent, given the slow rebar sales in the market and price pressure on the finished steel side.