Turkish flat steel markets remained subdued amid weak domestic and export demand, while uncertainty over EU quota-related import costs continued to deter buyers and curb exports to the bloc, Kallanish hears from market participants.
Heavy rainfall and flooding risk in Istanbul are further disrupting domestic market activity, adding to already weak demand.
“[Turkish] export is idle. All are busy with import costs,” a Turkish producer says.
Uncertainty over the final import cost encourage European buyers to switch to domestic sourcing, potentially supporting EU steel prices.
Estimates of additional costs vary. One producer expects an additional cost of around 12.55%, while another market participant suggests it could reach €100/tonne.
Uncertainty also surrounds the allocation of residual quotas. “We are waiting for the tonnages at ports, first day, and how many tonnes will be used from others’ quotas,” a source says. The source indicates it remains unclear which countries’ shipments will qualify against the remaining allocations.
“Turkish hot-rolled coil was oversubscribed at 236%, which means an effective duty of about 29%,” an industry participant commented on social media.
Some market participants believe volumes already accumulated at EU ports could remain uncleared until the next quota period begins in January.
Turkish HRC export offers were heard at $620-640/t fob.
Chinese import offers remained largely unchanged at around $550/t cfr Türkiye.
Russian HRC suppliers, having redirected shipments through northern ports, were heard offering at $490-495/t fob St Petersburg or Ust-Luga. Freight to İzmir was indicated at $59-63/t for 40,000t cargoes.
Meanwhile, Russian slab offers for November production were heard at $545-550/t cfr İzmir/Marmara, with loading ports at the mills’ discretion.
Indonesian slab was indicated at $480/t fob, while Chinese slab offers into Italy were heard at $570-580/t cfr.
