Tuesday, November 23,
Billet prices in the Black Sea region softened slightly last week, pausing from recent gains as a religious holiday closed business in key consumer Turkey, but traders said buying could return this week.
Traders quoted Black Sea free-on-board (fob) billet at around $550-565/MT, versus $540-580/MT last week.
Traders expect a spurt of buying in Turkey this week, when businesses re-open after a week’s Kurban holiday there.
“All the signs are that everything’s strengthening,” one trader said. Strength in scrap prices remained a support, traders said. Scrap prices in Turkey, one of the world’s top consumers of the steel-making feed, were at $390-400 tonne last week.
“The market’s firming up,” another trader said. “The market in the winter time normally increases on scrap prices,” he added, citing the lack of availability of scrap.
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