Whereas scrap prices have indicating strength in recent weeks, Turkish billet prices have been moving on a sideways trend recently since the desired demand levels have not yet been reached.
While the Turkish mills have been buying ex-Europe scrap for two weeks now thanks to the the decreased strength of the euro, it is thought that they could start buying billets instead of scrap if acceptable price levels can be reached. Meanwhile, ex-CIS billet offers to Turkey are now standing at $435-440/mt CFR.
With the CIS producers' billet offers having remained unchanged since the beginning of this week, no great activity is observed in the international steel markets due to the holidays. Also, it is known that both the Far East and the Middle East are currently delaying their purchases.
On the other hand, while Turkish billet producers have increased their export offers to $450-460/mt FOB under the influence of rising scrap prices, for the time being no great activity is being observed for these prices in the export markets. Buyers in general have been affected by the approach of the end of the year; they are not seeking to purchase much material for the time being but are waiting for the new market conditions which will be determined following the return of all the global markets in the New Year.