Demand in the local Turkish billet market has remained at low levels over the past week. Market sources state that the trading activity in the market is negatively influenced by the high volatility of the Turkish lira-US dollar exchange rate as well as the weakness of long steel demand. SteelOrbis has been informed that buyers in the local Turkish billet market are failing to gain a clearer picture of the future trend of the steel market due to the volatile exchange rate, and so are maintaining their wait-and-see stance.
On the other hand, despite the high levels of import scrap prices, Turkish billet producers have reduced their domestic offers by an average of $5/mt week on week to $470-475/mt ex-works by relinquishing their profit margins. However, this new price range which became available at the beginning of the current week has failed to gain acceptance from buyers.
Additionally, Turkish mills’ billet export prices are currently at $460-465/mt FOB. SteelOrbis has been informed that international demand for Turkish billet exports is weak. Meanwhile, international buyers have preferred ex-CIS billet offers with more attractive prices over the past week.