There have been only minimal changes seen in both local and import billet prices in Turkey over the past week, resulting in rather inactive buying. The fundamentals in Turkey and overseas have not improved much, but buyers have failed to pushed prices down, at least so far, while the mood in China has improved slightly, today, June 11.
Today, Turkish integrated producer Kardemir announced new billet sales at $495/mt ex-works for S235JR grade and $505/mt ex-works for B420 steel grade. This price level signals rather stable market conditions compared to last week. By the time of publication, there have been reports of around 30,000 mt totally sold by the mill, which is less than the 57,000 mt traded in the previous round of Kardemir’s sales on May 22.
In the Izmir region, offers have been at $508-510/mt ex-works, almost stable compared to last week, when sales were done at $507-508/mt ex-works. Billet prices have also been stable in the Iskenderun region at $500-505/mt ex-works.
Import offers to Turkey have also posted minimal changes. In particular, Chinese billets have been on offer at $455-462/mt CFR. This is slightly below $458-462/mt CFR seen in offers in the middle of last week. But the tradable level is still not above $450-452/mt CFR, in line with previous deals. “Traders are careful in offering much lower now as a positive mood in China has emerged,” a large Chinese trader said. Though today futures in China have moved up, market sources doubt that it will be able to bring any lasting effect.
Offers for ex-Malaysia billet to Turkey have been heard at $480-485/mt CFR, but for 165 mm billets, while for 150 mm the price is still assessed at $5/mt higher. No deals have been heard for Malaysian billets, unlike the situation in the slab segment where two deals for Malaysian material have been heard at slightly above $480/mt CFR.
Russian billet exporters, shipping from the Black Sea, are still almost absent from the export market, with only some indications heard at $455-460/mt CFR Turkey, translating to $435-440/mt FOB Black Sea. “While the ruble stays below $1= RUB 80, sales from Black Sea Russia will remain poor,” a trader said. The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia billet has remained stable at $430-437/mt FOB, with the midpoint at $433.5/mt FOB.