Spot flat steel prices show slight softening in Turkey

Producers in the international flat steel markets have lately been correcting their prices downward in line with the contraction observed in demand due to seasonal factors. Maintenance works conducted by steel mills in this slow period have also contributed to the sluggishness of the markets, and the Turkish flat steel market is no exception. Trending sideways for several weeks, the Turkish flat steel market has not shown any significant change either this week and the anticipation of a recovery after the June 12 general election has not materialized.
 
Contraction of flat steel demand due to the summer season prevents prices from rising, while anticipation of a price decline has further slowed down transaction activity in the market. Traders in the Turkish domestic flat steel market state that prices have not yet hit the bottom and they expect mills to reduce their prices in the coming days.
 
On the end-user side, in particular end-users who supply their needs from the spot market are facing difficulties in obtaining supplies of some specifications, while for commercial grades this is not the case. Thus, it can be said that in addition to traders' inventories being low, the product mix has lately weakened.
 
After filling its order books for August production, Turkish integrated steel producer Erdemir is now accepting orders for its September production. Erdemir is still offering hot rolled coil (HRC) to the domestic market at the base price level of $780-785/mt ex-works, while its 1-1.5 mm cold rolled coil (CRC) prices stand at $920-930/mt ex-works. In addition, Erdemir is offering ready stock HRC produced by its Iskenderun-based subsidiary Isdemir at $775-780/mt ex-works.
 
Since the beginning of this week, spot flat steel prices in Turkish domestic market have shown some softening. Accordingly, in this week's Turkish domestic spot market, HRC offers have been at $775-790/mt, down $10/mt week on week, while 1-5 mm CRC offers have been at $910-940/mt, with thinner CRC prices at $940-970/mt, all ex-warehouse.