Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) buyers have revealed quite an interest in import material from China, since there naturally has been a certain amount of delayed demand. However, the buyers have not succeeded in pushing prices lower than $550/mt CFR and it is believed the market has found its bottom, at least for now.
According to sources, at least 40,000-45,000 mt of ex-China HRC have been booked recently at $553-554/mt CFR, payment at sight basis, for Q195 grade HRC of 2.75 mm and higher. Some market players have reported a price of $563/mt CFR including deferred payment and 2 mm HRC extras. Still, the supplier has managed to avoid large discounts, while earlier it was believed that Turkey would target $540-550/mt CFR for large tonnages. “There is not much alternative [in the import segment], so basically, especially if you are an exporter, you need to buy from China even despite the expected retroactive AD tax,” a trader told SteelOrbis. In addition, import scrap prices are fluctuating within a narrow range for now, although many market sources are not too optimistic regarding flats demand overall. Particularly, the downturn in the EU may continue and there is some chance that India may become more aggressive, Turkish sources indicate.
In the domestic market, the realistic market price has settled at $650-670/mt ex-works in offers, versus $665-690/mt ex-works seen early last week. As for exports, the indicative level is at $630-650/mt FOB depending on the seller, the volume and the sales destination. Some sources report $620/mt FOB is already available, but bids from the large European customers are even lower than that.