But it remains unclear whether these tonnages had already been sold and allocated to US spot customers.
Traders agreed that the total volume could be in the range of 60,000-100,000 tonnes booked over the past week-and-a-half, from as many as four different mills. Most agreed that prices were between $635 and $638 per tonne cfr.
Some traders, which did not participate in the deals, said that the tonnages were risky as they could arrive just in time to face any sanctions that might be imposed under the US’s Section 232 regulations. These allow the US president to impose duties on imports thought to pose a threat to national security.
“It’s all conditional, tied to what’s going on with the 232 [investigation],” according to one trader who had not bought any tonnage. He believes that Turkish exporters have assumed the Section 232 risk but will not produce or ship if they really must pay...
