The last week of January has been mainly silent in the Turkish billet market as there has been almost zero activity except for Kardemir’s local sales. Another sharp drop in import deal prices for scrap and lower rebar and wire offers have put pressure on the billet trade. By the end of the week, hardly anyone is asking for volumes, while suppliers find it difficult to set an offer price since there is instability in the scrap market. In the meantime, the estimated local and import prices have gone down over the past week.
Local producer Kardemir traded over 40,000 mt of billet early this week at $584-589/mt ex-works depending on the grade. “Some considered this price to be a low one but later it became clear that Kardemir made a good move to sell at this level as the scrap price dropped afterwards,” a trader told SteelOrbis. In the Iskenderun region, producers chose not to offer officially, but the buyers considered $580/mt ex-works as the maximum possible level in the early stages of negotiation. Next week, prices are expected to gain clarity. “Today, I am not sure that either buyers or sellers can clearly see the workable price. But since rebar and scrap prices have dropped, I assume that billet should be traded at $560-565/mt tops,” a source said.
The import segment has been silent as well. Early this week, traders were offering $580/mt CFR and reporting bids $10/mt lower. As the scrap moved to $408/mt CFR in an ex-UK deal and to $416/mt CFR in an ex-US transaction, billet negotiations nearly stopped. The workable level for ex-CIS billet is considered at $560-565/mt CFR maximum for close shipments and only in the event that scrap prices stabilize at the current level. “We are not offering. There is no need now. It is better to wait and see,” one trader told SteelOrbis. While the ex-CIS billet trade has been generally silent this week, the FOB price level is estimated at $540-550/mt FOB. Turkish buyers might return with inquiries next week, but some sources foresee their preference may be given to local origin billet, especially in the Iskenderun region.