Demand in the local Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) market has remained slack during the past week, since buyers have started to adopt a wait-and-see stance, postponing their HRC purchases as their expectations of downward movement in domestic HRC prices have strengthened. Besides, since import HRC price offers to Turkey have showed no significant decrease and as Turkish steel producers have been unwilling to reduce their prices, producers’ prices in local Turkish HRC market have remained unchanged at $570-600/mt ex-works.
Meanwhile, slack domestic demand and expectations of a price decrease have started to impact the Turkish HRC spot market in which prices have softened. Accordingly, HRC prices given by traders in the Eregli region have decreased by an average of $30/mt, while hot rolled pickled and oiled coil (HR P&O) prices have decreased by $10/mt from the upper end, both week on week. Meanwhile, HRC quotations from traders in the Gebze region have declined by $25/mt on the lower end week on week.
The domestic sales prices of traders for local and imported hot rolled flat steel products in the Eregli and Gebze regions of Turkey are as follows:
| Product | Price ($/mt) | |
| Eregli | Gebze | |
| 2-12 mm HRC | 520-540 | 560-595 |
| 1.5 mm HRS | 560-580 | 590-625 |
| 2-12 mm HRC (for large tonnages) | 530-550 | |
| 3-12 mm HR P&O | 590-600 | 600-635 |
The above prices are ex-warehouse and for advance payments, exclusive of 18 percent VAT.