Demand in the Turkish welded pipe market has not shown any signs of improvement over the past two weeks and remains tepid due to a lack of financing in the construction sector. In this context and given lower feedstock prices coupled with weak demand in foreign markets, Turkish pipe producers have reduced their domestic and export prices by a maximum of $10/mt over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, Turkish buyers prefer to minimize their purchases in the current flagging market and continue to insist on additional discounts, while mills are not willing to cut their offers further. Market participants believe Turkish pipe mills will be unable to raise their prices in the coming period amid falling raw material prices and slack welded pipe demand in most sales markets given seasonally slack consumption in downstream industries.
Most offers of Turkish ERW pipes and hollow sections with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from hot rolled coil (HRC) of S235JR grade as per EN 10219 are being given to the domestic market at about $640-670/mt ex-works on actual weight basis, while 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 still being offered in the domestic market at $670-700/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 $630-650/mt FOB, while 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 $660-680/mt FOB.