Turkey’s billet market continues facing weak business activity. While locally small transactions are possible, in the import and export segments current offers are not considered workable.
Domestic square billet offers in Turkey are mostly set within $430-435/mt ex-works, being relatively stable over the past week. Some sellers, in the Izmir region in particular, are targeting $440/mt ex-works though with no fresh deals reported so far, SteelOrbis has learned.
Export offers are mainly concentrated at $430/mt FOB for September shipments, while slightly lower levels are said to be possible as well. Moreover, according to market sources, the mills which have higher capacities and more affordable costs might agree to sell close to $423-425/mt FOB. “Still Turkey cannot sell anything, with buyers’ price ideas at $415-420/mt FOB at a maximum,” one trader commented.
In the import segment, offers continue coming at $425-430/mt CFR for September shipments, while bids are hardly reaching $415-420/mt CFR.
Expectations regarding the price situation in the billet market in Turkey differ at the moment. Some players believe that now when the ex-US scrap price is down in the latest sale to Iskenderun, billet tags will come under more pressure. On the other hand, a lot of sources do not see the benchmark going far below $290/mt CFR. “Local collection prices in the US have gone up by over $20/mt, so I don’t think Turkey will get what it wants,” a trader said.