Turkish steel producers, who had accelerated their import
scrap purchases as of the last week of June and even concluded new import
scrap deals during the end-of-Ramadan holiday, have been quiet in the current week following the coup attempt in
Turkey on July 15. The coup attempt has impacted
Turkey's economy negatively, causing the Turkish lira to lose strength against other currencies. As a result, Turkish steel producers, having gained relief in terms of
scrap inventories after their previous import
scrap purchases, are unwilling to conclude new
scrap deals and prefer to keep a close eye on both political and economic developments and act when the situation becomes clearer. On the other hand, it is observed that import
scrap suppliers are worried due to the recent developments in
Turkey, while they find it difficult to predict the future trend of the market.
Although Turkish steel mills had preferred to purchase import
scrap instead of billet for a long time, import
scrap prices had indicated a downward trend as of the early days of May, while import billet quotations increased in the first week of July. The downward trend seen in import
scrap prices in
Turkey gave way to an upward trend last week with
scrap prices increasing by $3-4/mt amid the rises seen in billet quotations and also due to the strong demand from Turkish steel producers.
Although domestic finished steel prices on US dollar basis in
Turkey have fallen in the current week, due to currency fluctuations prices on Turkish lira basis have increased. Meanwhile, demand for finished steel in the local Turkish market has been at very low levels. On the export side, particularly in Dubai, price inquiries for Turkish finished steel have continued since Turkish finished steel prices are more attractive than domestic quotations in Dubai.
Turkish steel producers are expected to limit their import
scrap purchases in line with their needs until political and economic stability is ensured in
Turkey.