Turkish coil offered into EU at competitive levels

Turkish imported coil is increasingly attractive to European buyers, sources said today.

Turkish hot-rolled coil (HRC) has been offered into southern and northern Europe at around €520-530/t cfr as mills in the country look to fill rolling programmes. This is very competitive against domestic northwest European pricing of €570/t ex-works and above.

Argus' weekly Turkish HRC assessment was last published at $575/t fob (€494/t) on 7 September, up by $5/t on the week.

Turkish cold-rolled coil (CRC) has been offered at the base equivalent of €620/t delivered, which is below €600/t cfr Antwerp, according to one buyer.

"My impression is the market was much firmer 10 days ago than it is today. September has gotten off to a quiet start," one buyer said. Some southern European sellers were also flexible and looking for volumes, he added, despite talk of a €20/t rise going forward.

Competitive import pricing is not ideal for European mills, which are looking to maintain upward momentum amid contractual talks for next year. One seller said he was "hearing" but not actually seeing aggressive numbers out of Turkey.

Most western European mills have told buyers prices will rise, but most have not come out with fresh offers yet. One steelmaker will take orders for the first quarter, but has not yet tabled a price. The mill's offer is at €600/t ex-works for the fourth quarter, a level that most deem as bullish, and it has even suggested it may target more going forward.

One mill representative said his company had tried to advance CRC and galvanised pricing by €20-30/t, but the increases did not stick. He said availability might be freer in the fourth quarter than some suggest. Another source said softening US pricing could play into this, as the arbitrage for imported material reduces and means European coil previously bound for the US staying closer to home.

Turkish HRC has been sold into the UK at £535/t ddp West Midlands for December arrival from at least one trader.

These Turkish levels into the UK were more or less in line with domestic offers. One re-roller is behind on deliveries in the UK after a prolonged maintenance stoppage last month, which is not helping the outsell market — the material was booked around £520/t ddp and will likely be sold around £575/t, which will not reflect replacement cost going forward.

One service centre source in the West Midlands said outsell prices needed to move up by £20/t to reflect replacement costs. Another said it would be "interesting" to hear what European mills do in light of the reportedly competitive Turkish imports.