European producers have been more active with export offers of hot-rolled coil to Turkey in the second half of September in an attempt to keep domestic supply volumes under control, sources told Fastmarkets.
Offers for commodity-grade November-shipment HRC from Northern European producers have been heard at $950-970 per tonne cfr Turkish ports.
This is substantially lower than domestic prices in Europe, but not low enough to stimulate Turkish buying.
Market sources estimated freight rates from Turkey to the European Union at about $30 per tonne, and freight from the EU to Turkey should be similar, Fastmarkets understands.
The situation is unusual because traditionally Turkey is a major exporter of HRC to Europe, market participants said. European steelmakers mainly sell coil products with higher added value to Turkey, so offers for commodity grades with relatively short lead times are unusual, according to sources.
"I heard HRC offers from Tata Steel at $970 per tonne cfr Turkey. The price is impossible because local HRC is at $900-920 per tonne ex-works now," a Turkish source said.
"I am not sure which month production Europe is offering...