The situation in the Turkish billet market has remained depressed as buyers have continued to voice low bids, seeing a further drop in longs prices and weak scrap prices. However, most sellers have been resisting a further downtrend and have been either keeping offers stable or have exited the market.
In the import market in Turkey, interest in Asian billets is still very limited. Offers from China have stabilized at $480-490/mt CFR for end-of-January shipment, while ASEAN materials have been available at $495-505/mt CFR. Some other “clean” origins, like Ukraine, could also be priced at slightly below $510/mt CFR, but overall allocation is limited.
Turkish buyers have been actively trying to push prices down for Russian origin billet, seeing no strong signs of a downtrend in China. However, after some small-volume deals at $460/mt CFR, translating to $440-mt FOB Black Sea, there have been no confirmed deals heard. There has been a rumor about an ex-Donbass sale at $435/mt CFR, which was strongly denied in the market. A few traders, that could be involved in the sale, said that there are no offers below $440/mt CFR. “Yes, the Turks are bidding at $450/mt CFR and below, but no one can give this price, only if someone is crazy,” a source said. Also, another factor preventing sellers from actively cutting prices is the lack of January shipment offers after previous sales.
“If China can provide $490/mt CFR [to Egypt], we will just leave the market. There is no need to sell,” a source said.
As a result, the SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia billet has increased by $5/mt since late last week to $435-440/mt FOB Black Sea amid strong resistance by sellers and the relatively limited offer volume.