Posted on 01 Jul 2024
Turkish merchant bar producers faced strong price pressure from buyers last week due to the decline seen in billet prices.
On Friday, producers’ official export quotes were pegged mostly at around $605-630/tonne fob Turkey for angles, IPN-UPN sections, flat bars and IPE sections.
Although there were inquiries about Turkish merchant bar in the global market, buyers pressured prices, specifically after Kardemir opened billet sales on Thursday at $10/t lower than its previous price list. Tough global and domestic competition was another factor that challenged Turkish merchant bar producers. Consequently, sales remained far from sufficient for mills throughout last week.
A Turkish merchant bar re-roller tells Kallanish: “Buyers in the EU, referring to lower-priced offers, are bidding at €30-80/t lower. I have already heard of an offer from a Turkish producer to Portugal at €30/t lower compared to my offer. Its price corresponds to $585-590/t fob, which I cannot afford.”
Another re-roller said on Friday: “Because Kardemir decreased its billet price by $10/t this week, buyers are asking for discounts of $20-30/t. However, we are carrying a big risk due to rising freight and the highly volatile EUR/USD exchange rate.”
Although some European buyers inquired last week about Turkish merchant bar for September shipment, sales remained unsatisfactory. In North Africa, a major market for Turkish merchant bar producers, two Turkish mills were active with competitive prices. No demand was heard in South America.
One producer says: “Besides Arcelor, British Steel increased its prices for structural sections by €60/t in the last two weeks. A shortage is foreseen in the UK. Although there is some demand due to these price rises, we are barely converting it into sales.”
In the billet market, following Kardemir’s $10/t price decline, offers from Russia, China, Malaysia and Indonesia stood at $515-520/t, $510/t, $520-525/t and 520-525/t cfr Turkey respectively on Friday.
Source:Kallanish
