Russian slab suppliers cut prices for Turkey

At least two sanctioned Russian producers therefore offered their products at low prices. One of them offered 40-50 thousand tons of slab at around $630/t FOB (around $660/t in Turkey at current freight rates). The company is also considering the possibility of offering another 100,000 tons of slab in April 2023.

Another sub-sanctioned supplier from the Russian Federation reported an offer for Turkey at $620-630/ton FOB Black Sea. This is significantly lower than slab prices in Turkey, which were around $710/ton last week. Initial offers from the Russian plant, which is not covered by sanctions, also dropped.

This week, Turkish buyers' offers for Russian products not subject to sanctions did not exceed $690/t CFR. Suppliers from the Russian Federation have to compete with imports from Asia, which are offered at slightly higher prices. However, Malaysian products are more attractive as they are duty-free and Turkish mills can re-roll and resell them domestically at no additional cost.

Italian rolling mills want to buy Russian slab from a non-sanctioned mill at $740/ton CFR. However, collection is hampered by technical factors. In anticipation of stronger sentiment in the Italian thick rolled market, imported slab prices may also increase by $30-40/t to $780-800/t compared to previous deals with Asian suppliers.

At the same time, billet prices in Turkey are also decreasing as demand in this market remains moderate, especially in the absence of fresh scrap prices. In the import segment, single offers for Russian semi-finished products were seen at $630-640/t CFR this week, which corresponds to last week's levels. However, buyers want to see a maximum price of $620/t CFR, so producers from the Russian Federation will have to give way, according to the source.

World slab prices remained stable in mid-February. After weeks of active trading, the market cooled down slightly as trading activity around the world slowed down. Slab quotations at Black Sea ports for the week of February 10-17, 2023 increased by $10/t from the previous week to $580-590/t FOB.