Even though trade has been livelier this week than in previous weeks, flat steel spot prices have remained unchanged. The main reason for this stability is the continued currency depreciation of the lira and so most traders have decided to sell in the local currency to preserve price stability, resulting in higher demand.
Meanwhile, most traders still supply on dollar basis, and in order to compute accurate prices some traders have decided to follow central bank rates while others have chosen to place specific rates that they have chosen from daily dollar exchange rates.
“Since we are attempting to sell in Turkish liras, our sales at fixed lira prices have been fairly strong as a result of the anticipated weakening of the lira. However, we also provide dollar-based rates, so our current fixed rate is $1 = TRY 23.70” one trader told SteelOrbis
Domestic hot rolled sheet prices have stable week on week at $730-770/mt ex-warehouse. Similar to the previous week's ranges, larger traders have been heard offering at around $730-740/mt ex-warehouse, while medium-sized and smaller traders have chosen to keep offers at around $740-770/mt ex-warehouse.
On the other hand, prices in the market for cold rolled sheets have been unchanged in the past week, with most traders stating prices at roughly $800-850/mt ex-warehouse.