Another price increase in Turkish coated steel market

Turkish re-rollers have returned from the holiday with $20/mt and $30/mt increases for coated steel, for the domestic and export markets, respectively. Improved demand and bullish moods in the hot rolled coil (HRC) segment have triggered the increase. In addition, re-rollers say they are mainly sold out for June production and the general level of stocks in the market is lower now. “With the support of the higher demand we were able to increase our prices further. Of course, we had to make a price increase due to higher HRC and scrap prices, but without demand prices would have rolled back fast. Now we are selling for July. Customers are still willing to book, but they are also closely following HRC prices,” a re-roller told SteelOrbis. Accordingly, unless there are some downward moves in the HRC segment, Turkey’s coated steel offers will remain sustainable for now. However, most market sources evaluate the HRC market situation as shaky for now, taking into account difficult situations with sales to the EU.

On the export side, there has been no significant demand increase but the positive outlook in the local market has provided some support. “Of course, demand is now better than a month ago but is still insufficient. There is still a lot of uncertainty in the export destinations due to Covid-19. Additionally, the summer period has begun. We are not in a rush to export now and are not considering any discounts. Local demand is sufficient for us,” another producer told SteelOrbis.