While Turkey’s hot rolled coil (HRC) market remains generally depressed in terms of demand and sales, import offers have increased since the end of last week due to the positivity in China. However, since the expectation in Turkey is generally pessimistic, the new levels are not considered workable, especially for large lots and with long lead times.
Currently, China is offering Q195 HRC at $535/mt CFR for up to 50,000 mt, while $530/mt CFR is considered possible as well. Last week, the prices stood at $515-525/mt CFR, including the non-VAT offers from some traders. “China is offering for March deliveries and no one knows which market we will have by then. Re-rollers [in Turkey] are under pressure and are not in a position to be bold with purchases, especially when the demand for premium quality flats is down,” a market source told SteelOrbis.
Import offers from Russia have been reported at $505-510/mt CFR from the sanctioned suppliers, while the estimation for non-sanctioned material stands at $540-545/mt CFR, versus the previous sales at $530-535/mt CFR. Aside from China and Russia, some sources have been reporting offers from Japan at $540/mt CFR, which is not considered workable in Turkey at the moment.
Domestic HRC prices are mainly reported at $570-580/mt ex-works officially, while $560/mt ex-works is also considered to be present in the market from some suppliers. Export offers are at $550-560/mt FOB officially, but many sources, especially the Europeans, have been reporting offers from Turkey equivalent to $530-540/mt FOB.