Posted on 18 Mar 2024
Turkish merchant bar producers have failed to increase their quotes despite the recent upward correction seen in scrap prices.
On Friday, producers’ official export quotes were pegged mostly at around $630-640/tonne fob Turkey for angles, IPN-UPN sections, flat bars and IPE sections, unchanged from the previous week.
However, lower offers at $620-630/t were also available from some re-rollers trying to sell more aggressively.
Although Turkish merchant bar producers were expecting a serious demand recovery following the scrap price correction, the crash seen in the Chinese market throughout last week prevented this from materialising.
Nevertheless, they received some demand from the EU, Middle East and North Africa last week. South American demand remained slow and limited to small volumes.
A Turkish merchant bar re-roller tells Kallanish: “Many buyers inquiring in previous weeks were waiting for scrap to bottom before buying. Even though scrap recovered, we have not seen them returning as the negative sentiment in China caused them to follow a cautious stance.”
Another producer says he is unable to compete with Italian mills who have aggressive pricing strategies. “Buyers are even coming with very low bids or asking for deferred payment.”
Meanwhile, Turkish producers have exhausted their first-quarter import quota for non-alloy merchant bars and light sections in the UK. In the EU, however, their quotas are still largely available.
A re-roller says that competition between Turkish producers is also tough. “Another re-roller that has higher transportation costs than me gave an offer at $40/t lower in the EU. This is insane as there can be no profit margin. His price corresponds to around $610/t fob.”
Meanwhile, Turkish producers are seen struggling to find targeted billet prices as CIS-origin suppliers, citing North African demand, are offering at $500-520/t fob Black Sea, while Turkish buyers are seeking $500-510/t cfr Turkey.
Source:Kallanish
