Another sharp drop in Turkish coated steel prices

Turkish coated steel prices have recording another sharp decrease over the past week, moving down $20-40/mt. Demand has remained very low and coated steel stocks are still high in the country, as some of the volumes destined for delivery under long-term contracts are being sold as spot cargoes nowadays due to production cuts in the end-user segment. Still, some additional discounts are possible for a serious buyer, sources say.

However, some market insiders believe that the downward trend will lose some of its momentum for now following the recent uptick in the import scrap prices and the resulting temporary positive expectations for the hot rolled coil segment. “We do not expect additional sharp price cuts in Turkish coated steel prices because scrap prices have increased this week. Now everyone is waiting for end-users to resume their production at the end of April. Until that time, we may see mild discounts due to high stocks,” a re-roller told SteelOrbis. “We saw $380-390/mt CFR for HRC imports last week and we think it is not possible to have lower feedstock offers because of the new scrap prices. Turkish coated steel producers have already made adjustments to their prices according to these HRC levels and we think they will wait and decide if they can give discounts for real buyers,” a customer said.

In the export segment, prices have also decreased by $20-40/mt since last week. Market players are waiting for the end of April, hoping that European buyers will start to come back with orders after the Easter holiday.