In Turkey, before the Feast of Sacrifice holiday (Aug. 31-Sept. 4), import flat steel prices increased further and demand for import flat steel has been weak over the past two weeks. Turkish buyers, who were stating that import flat steel prices are no longer advantageous as compared to domestic flat steel prices for a long time, have now pointed that prices of import and domestic flat steel in Turkey are almost at the same levels following the latest price increases of import material. Buyers have also stated that, for this reason, they will continue to meet their needs from domestic market due to the extra costs of importing flat steel such as customs duties, even when imported within the scope of inward processing regime.
Over the past two weeks, Ukrainian hot rolled coil (HRC) sellers announced their prices to Turkey at $580-590/mt CFR, while ex-Russia HRC offers to Turkey have increased by $10/mt to $580-600/mt CFR. Meanwhile, Ukrainian cold rolled coil (CRC) prices for Turkey have increased by $20/mt to $610-620/mt CFR, while Russian CRC prices have increased by $10/mt on the lower end to $620-640/mt CFR.