Posted on 24 Sep 2019
Turkish steelmakers have continued to adjust their hot rolled coil offers down, in hopes of enticing buyers, but sales are slow as mills are now offering November shipment material. This is considered to be too long a lead time for the volatile, bearish market, Kallanish learns from the market sources.
Ongoing competition with European domestic producers and other suppliers such as India and Korea in Europe, is preventing the mills achieving sales. This is so even at the lower, $430-440/tonne fob level, that the Turkish mills indicated last week. Some minor sales to Italy were made at around $430-435/t fob equivalent, with sellers using the advantage of pre-booked vessels and adding small lots to existing orders, they say.
Eastern European buyers are also largely opting for domestic supply instead, as being the most competitively-priced. One Black Sea importer says that it booked HRC from a European supplier at an equivalent of $425/t fob Turkey price. More price decreases are expected amid weak secondary market demand and ongoing slowdown of the automotive industry in Europe, sources say.
Asian markets also remain out of reach for Turkish mills as alternative supply from the regional mills and the CIS is squeezing higher-priced Turkish material out of the equation. Lowering demand is forcing Turkish mills to review their already reduced production schedules further, with a major producer having slated a 15-day stoppage in October. This is a hiatus "… which could last longer, if necessary," a local source says.
