The situation in the Turkish welded pipe market has continued to improve gradually. Domestic prices of welded pipes in Turkey have increased by around $10/mt over the past two weeks on the back of firm input costs and relatively better demand, while export offers have remained stable over the same period. Most market participants are hopeful that the domestic market will continue to improve and that greater activity will be seen next month due to upcoming infrastructure investments. Also, Turkish welded pipe exporters hope that interest from foreign customers will increase after the traditional summer vacation season and that export sales will rise gradually. Thus, welded pipe prices in Turkey will likely maintain their rising trend in line with strengthening flat steel quotations and better demand.
Most offers of Turkish ERW pipes and hollow sections with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from hot rolled coil (HRC) of S235 grade as per EN 10219 are being given to the domestic market at about $650-670/mt ex-works on actual weight basis. Water and gas ERW pipes of 2.0-4.5 mm wall thickness made to EN 10255/DIN 2440 from S235 grade HR products are being offered in the domestic market at $680-700/mt ex-works.
Turkish producers are offering ERW pipes and hollow sections made from HRC of steel grade S235 JRH as per EN 10219 to foreign customers at around $640-670/mt FOB, while quotations of cold rolled pipes of steel grades S235 and S275 are at around $720-770/mt FOB. Water and gas ERW pipes with 20-114 mm diameter and with 2.0-4.5 mm wall thickness made to EN 10255 from S235 grade HR products are being offered for export at about $680-700/mt FOB.