The Turkish welded pipe market has not witnessed any major positive changes over the past two weeks, with activity remaining subdued amid low demand. However, a minor upturn in construction activity in the Turkish market has helped to keep domestic prices of welded pipes relatively stable over the past fortnight. At the same time, overseas buyers of Turkish welded pipes have continued to adopt waiting positions, hoping to see lower prices soon amid the downtrend in the global steel market. As a result, export prices for Turkish welded pipes have weakened by $20-30/mt over the past two weeks.
Market players assume welded pipe prices in Turkey may slide down in the coming period under the influence of weakening flat steel quotations, insufficient support from the consuming industry and overall downward sentiment.
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 $660-680/mt ex-works on theoretical weight basis, while ERW pipes of 1.5 mm wall thickness made from cold rolled coil (CRC) of DC01 steel grade are in the range of $750-770/mt ex-works. 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 $690-700/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 $650-670/mt FOB, while quotations of pipes made from CRC of steel grade S235 and S275 are at around $740-770/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.