Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) producers remain under a certain amount of pressure in terms of prices, amid slow exports, the lack of firm scrap price indications so far, and low domestic demand for HRC before the local elections on Sunday. In addition, Turkish buyers had booked large amounts of ex-China HRC a week earlier, and so bids for domestic HRC have declined.
According to sources, the latest domestic HRC offers have slid by another $10-20/mt over the past week to $630-645/mt ex-works base or CFR Marmara. In the meantime, some large buyers believe $620/mt ex-works is quite achievable from certain suppliers. In addition, the current export offers are at $620-630/mt FOB base, versus bids from some overseas buyers at $580-590/mt FOB, SteelOrbis has heard.
In the import segment, following transactions closed at around $555/mt CFR on average from China for base material, offers have increased to $570/mt CFR and above, but some sources report $560-565/mt CFR may be available also. However, buyers are not in a rush to purchase at present.
Aside from China, there are HRC offers from Egypt for May production at $635-640/mt CFR, with $630/mt CFR considered possible. With a small discount or if certain extras are included, the offers may be considered workable given that Egyptian origin is not subject to import tax in Turkey.