Billet market in Turkey has been quiet this week, based on the scrap being flat for a while now and the fact that there are hardly any active buyers out there to make a purchase. Many customers have restocked in the previous weeks with various origins and seems there is no urgent need for new deals. In the meantime, the number of offers is also not too plentiful, particularly for Russian and Donbass origins. Most Asian indications are not considered workable, though declined over the week, while the prices from the GCC and North Africa might be accepted in case there is any interest. Overall, the outlook for the billet prices for now is stable to slightly negative.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia billet has been settled at $508-512/mt FOB Black Sea with the midpoint at $510/mt FOB, down by $3.5/mt since late last week. “Latest offers for billet [from Donbass] were at $535-540/mt CFR [Turkey, which translates to $510-515/mt FOB], but the billet market is silent now,” a trader said. Another supplier of Russian billet said that the workable level has slipped closer to $505-510/mt FOB as there has been no interest from buyers for further purchases. Last week, 20,000 mt of ex-Russia billet for prompt shipment were sold at $538-545/mt CFR to Turkey, while another small tonnage of 3,000 mt changed hands at $545/mt CFR Turkish Black Sea ports for February shipment. Some suppliers are still indicating offers not below $520/mt FOB Black Sea, but this is hardly workable in the current slow market conditions. While at the moment buyers are almost absent, market sources are waiting for clearer direction in the scrap segment and are assessing the trend for January as mainly flat, at least for now.
Iranian suppliers are also present in Turkish market with various offers depending on the tonnage and shipment terms. Some of the position volumes have been on offer at around $540/mt CFR for 10,000-15,000 mt, which is not viable in the Turkish market. However, according to the market information, a similar tonnage has been booked at $530/mt DAP in the Iskenderun region of Turkey for prompt deliveries, while earlier the price for such cargoes was at $515/mt DAP maximum. “It is on the higher side and there will be a headache with truck loads, but then again local indication for billet in Iskenderun is $590/mt,” a source commented.
As for non-toxic origins, the indicative prices from Indonesia for February shipments stand nowadays at $525/mt FOB, $10/mt down over the week, while Malaysia seems to be out of the market for now. However, ex-Asia offers are not considered workable due to the increased freights and long lead time, which implies around mid-March delivery. “Due to Suez Canal situation the freight for around 20,000-25,000 mt will be $40/mt or above, which makes the price not workable for Turkey. In addition, with the February shipment and up to 30 days sailing time it makes it too risky now to buy from Asia,” a trader told SteelOrbis. Some of the Turkish mills have reported offers from Indonesia at $560/mt CFR.
In addition, there are offers from the MENA region. According to several sources, ex-Algeria billet for end of January shipment is on offer at $560-562/mt CFR and up to $565/mt CFR, while the previous deal for prompt shipment has been closed at slightly above $555/mt CFR. Saudi Arabian mill is also in the market with the reported offers at $550/mt CFR and $560/mt CFR depending on the region of Turkey. In the past week, there has been a talk about a billet sale of the same origin to Turkey’s Izmir region at near $560/mt CFR. The shipment term is end-January.