An atmosphere of panic prevails in the European flat steel markets as Italian steel producer
Ilva's shipments have been halted, while Spanish, Portuguese and especially Italian buyers have started to seek alternative suppliers. In the meantime, given the short lead times involved Turkish steelmakers are considered as one of the main alternative supply sources for these buyers. Against this backdrop, Turkish hot rolled coil (
HRC) export offers have increased by $10/mt to $580/mt FOB.
In the export markets, foreign buyers have started to inquire for prices and lead times and quite likely some transactions from
Turkey will be concluded. In the current context, Turkish mills' orders books are likely to start filling up and Turkish flat steel offers both in the domestic and export markets will likely move up further.