The highlight of the week in the Turkish flat rolled market was the announcement of new prices by Erdemir. Meanwhile, Russian producer Severstal has also issued its new prices. The awaited price announcements of the other CIS mills will determine the direction of the market.
Last week, Ukrainian steel mill Ilyich production hot rolled coils were being offered at $550-555/mt CFR Turkey for July shipments. However, the new prices expected to be issued this week by Russian steelmaker MMK may also affect the new prices to be released by Ilyich. Meanwhile, we also expect Zaporizhstal, another Ukrainian mill, to announce its new prices in the upcoming weeks.
Russian steel mill Severstal is offering hot rolled coils for August shipment at a level of $665/mt CFR Turkey. Besides, cold rolled coils ex-same mill are being offered at $745/mt CFR Turkey, with its galvanized coils at $845/mt CFR Turkey. Due to the strong domestic market conditions in Russia, no official export destination has been named for Severstal production materials to be produced in June for August shipments.
Bulgarian steel mill Kremikovtzi has collected bids in the range of $580-585/mt CFR Turkey for hot rolled coils to be shipped in July. However, the mill has not yet clarified whether it intends to sell its materials at these bid levels. Russian mill MMK's new prices are expected to affect Kremikovtzi's next move.
According to the price list issued today by Turkish mill Erdemir, the prices of all products (except for galvanized material) have been increased by $20/mt. The price of the producer's galvanized products remains at the level of the previous list. The new base prices for local sales effective as of May 16, 2007, are at $690/mt for hot rolled coils, at $750/mt for cold rolled coils and at $720/mt for plates. It is thought that Erdemir has hiked its prices due to the rises in both freight rates and raw material prices.