A Turkish mill located in the northern part of the country reportedly sold a 25,000 mt square billet cargo to the Dominican Republic last week at $615/mt FOB effective. Most sources estimate the extras for this order at $12-15/mt, and so the base price is close to $600/mt FOB, SteelOrbis understands. In addition, a 50,000 mt billet sale is rumored to have been closed to China at $610/mt FOB Turkey. However, the information has not been confirmed by the time of publication. Some sources doubt the deal has been closed as lately the workable level in China has been at $640-645/mt CFR. “The freight from the Black Sea should be $45/mt minimum and there is the trader’s margin,” a market player said. The previous export sale was closed a couple of weeks ago at $585/mt FOB Turkey, as SteelOrbis reported earlier.
In the local market, another 30,000 mt were sold a day ago in the Iskenderun region at $590/mt FOB, in line with the price in the most recent bookings. According to sources, the producer has overall sold close to 70,000 mt at around this price since the end of last week. Moreover, taking into account its successful billet sales, the mill has chosen to stop offering rebar from its rolling asset, SteelOrbis has learned.
In the import segment, negotiations remain slow despite the cautious rebound in the scrap segment. Offers vary from $590-600/mt CFR from traders and small producers to $615-620/mt CFR and above from large CIS-based mills.