Domestic ship scrap prices in Turkey reached as high as $300/mt on Thursday, in line with the ongoing rising trend in imported scrap prices, while major Turkish steelmakers pulled up their domestic scrap buying prices to around same levels with the latest hikes.

Turkish imports of premium heavy melting scrap 1/2 (80:20) prices also reached at around $300/mt CFR with mills' latest imported scrap bookings heard on Friday.

Mills in Turkey have begun offering billet to the domestic market at $425-$430/mt ex-works Friday, depending upon tonnage and region. A large producer opened its billet order book on Thursday at $430/mt and sold some tonnages to the domestic market, a trade source told Platts. Even some higher offer prices were avaliable in the market Friday.

CIS mills' export billet offers to Turkey reached $415-$420/mt FOB levels, following some sales around $405-$410/mt FOB, the source added.

Turkish mills also pushed their lira-denominated domestic rebar list prices above $450/mt ex-works with consecutive hikes throughout the past week, while mills' domestic wire rod offers also strengthened and reached $480-$490/mt ex-works with mills' latest hikes, depending upon quality.

Turkish mills' have also raised their rebar export offer prices to the $445-$455/mt range in recent days, depending upon tonnage and destination.

"Recent deal prices in Turkish rebar export sales generally finished lower in the range of $440-$445/mt FOB, but tonnages were generally low," an export trader said Friday, adding that rebar demand remained slower than billet both in the domestic and export markets.