Price increases of up to $100/mt have this week been observed been in Turkish and CIS billet prices. Since the beginning of last week, Turkish and CIS billets have been attracting great interest from the Turkish rebar and merchant bar rolling mills. However, due to the continuously increasing semi-finished and finished product prices, (using their seller's advantage to good effect) CIS and Turkish billet producers have this week sometimes declined to give price levels, causing price levels to go up. This week, ex-CIS billet price levels have reached the range of $420-440/mt FOB. Additionally, it is heard that there have been deals from the CIS to Turkey at levels of $425-430/mt CFR. As of Thursday, November 13, Kardemir announced its price level for St37 grade billet at $473/mt excluding VAT and closed its sales on the same day after it had sold 22,000 mt of billets. Towards the end of the week, it has been observed that Turkish billet producers have offered at around $490/mt FOB. Although it seems that the main reason behind the semi-finished and finished product price increases are the price uptrend in raw material and the rising demand, it should also be considered that the mills' production cuts also constitute an important factor.
A possible increase in the demand level for finished products could cause semi-finished product prices to rise. If the rolling mills that consider the finished product price increases to be "artificial" hold back from concluding billet deals, and if the prices go up even further, then these rolling mills may find it difficult to carry out purchases against the rising price levels. For the rolling mills that consider the current increases to be "genuine" and who have acted accordingly, if prices continue to increase these mills will enjoy being part of the rising market.