Turkish domestic and export welded pipe prices have inched down over the past two weeks due to the Feast of Sacrifice holiday in Turkey, lower feedstock costs in the domestic market and the downward pressure exerted by Chinese exports on the global markets. Thus, during the given period, domestic offers have declined by $20/mt, while export quotations have moved down by $20-40/mt. Market insiders believe that it will be difficult for the welded pipe market in Turkey to see an improvement in the short run, considering the low buying activity in the market and declining flat steel quotations.
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 $630-650/mt ex-works on actual weight basis.
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 $610-640/mt FOB, while quotations of cold rolled pipes of steel grades S235 and S275 are at around $700-750/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 $640-670/mt FOB.