Today, October 24, Turkey's integrated steel producer Kardemir announced its 150 mm billet sales at $535/mt ex-works for S235JR, down from $550/mt ex-works announced two weeks ago. "For over 500 mt and for cash payment it is $529.65/mt, for 5,000 mt and cash payment it is $527.15/mt. They decreased discounts for over 5,000 mt," a source told SteelOrbis. The producer's offer for B420 billet grade has decreased from $575/mt to $560/mt ex-works. By the time of publication, no information on deals for Kardemir’s billet has circulated in the market. In other regions of Turkey, billet prices are at $560-580/mt ex-works. In particular, the upper end of the range is valid for the Iskenderun region, where local suppliers' indications have been reported at even up to $600/mt ex-works.
In the import segment, there has not been much change in prices. Chinese indications are evaluated at $495-500/mt CFR, while buyers’ price ideas are at least $10/mt lower than that. Indonesia and Malaysia are offering at $520-530/mt CFR depending on the supplier, billet size and shipment. "There is not much interest in buying 50,000 mt lots due to the long lead time, at least not right now," a source told SteelOrbis.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia billet has settled at $475-480/mt FOB, decreasing slightly by $2.5/mt on average from late last week. Most offers from Russia have been heard at $505/mt CFR and above, translating to $480-485/mt FOB Black Sea. The price for billet from Donbass has been at $500/mt CFR. But most buyers have been insisting on $495/mt CFR or below. “I am not surprised that Kardemir cut its local billet offers. Customers are trying to get lower [prices from both local and foreign sellers] for a week already,” a trader said.