Demand in the Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) spot market has increased compared to last week, though it is still weak. Market players state that the increase in demand has been on the low side due to ongoing overhaul works in the main downstream industries and among subcontractors, while they expect demand to rise especially in the last week of August. Spot prices in the Turkish HRC market have remained unchanged over the past week, while the tightness in availability has diminished.
On the other hand, local demand for domestic producers' HRC products is still strong. Producers' HRC prices are still in the range of $590-600/mt ex-works for September and October deliveries, while producers are reported to be offering $5/mt discounts depending on buyers and transaction volumes. Market sources report that buyers are negotiating with producers to conclude deals for at least two months due to expectations of a price increase in the Turkish HRC market.
HRC prices in the Turkish market are expected to rise in the coming period given the improvement in demand in the local Turkish market, better sentiment in the European market, the strength of scrap prices, and the announcement by Ukrainian steel producer Metinvest that it has stopped accepting new export offers.
The domestic sales prices of traders for local and imported hot rolled flat steel products in the Eregli and Gebze regions of Turkey are as follows:
Product | Price ($/mt) | |
Eregli | Gebze | |
2-12 mm HRC | 610-620 | 615-625 |
2-12 mm HRC (for large volume sales) | 600-610 | |
1.5 mm HRS | 640-650 | 645-655 |
3-12 mm HR P&O | 650-660 | 660-670 |
The above prices are ex-warehouse and for advance payments, exclusive of 18 percent VAT.
Weekly price movements of different steel products in major markets can be viewed comparatively in the SteelOrbis Historical Steel Prices section. Market trends can thus be seen more clearly, while desired charts can be created and used in reports or presentations.