Low domestic demand, financial and economic issues, and slow exports have been weighing on Turkish cold rolled coil (CRC) and coated steel producers in recent weeks. In fact, sales are reported to be quite slow and buyers’ price ideas are significantly below the official offers. As a result, despite the relative stabilization of HRC prices in Turkey, some re-roller suppliers have decided to soften prices for their products, while others have kept the official indications stable while providing discounts for serious orders.
The local price range for hot dip galvanized (HDG) coils has decreased in official offers by $10-20/mt over the past week to $800-840/mt ex-works base. However, the workable level is estimated at $10/mt lower. A similar situation is seen in the PPGI market where prices have moved down by the same amount to $920-940/mt ex-works. Local tinplate prices have decreased by $10-20/mt over the past week as well, to $880-920/mt ex-works, depending on the supplier, SteelOrbis has learned.
Turkey’s domestic CRC prices vary in a rather wide range. Most of the reasonable prices for October-November deliveries are at $740-760/mt ex-works officially, though levels $10/mt lower are considered workable by most sellers. However, some buyers have reported $720/mt ex-works received from rare suppliers this week, while some re-rollers are in the market to offer as high as $800/mt ex-works, but for immediate CRC deliveries.
In the HRC segment, moderate domestic demand still allows the mills to keep their offers relatively stable, at $660-670/mt ex-works, with $10/mt discounts possible. However, a few sources report the $680/mt ex-works figure these days, partly due to the movement in the import segment. The most recent offers from China have dropped by $10/mt over the past week to $570-580/mt CFR for Q195 quality with a further $5/mt discount considered possible. “I think there is still interest in local HRC purchases over active imports since [coated and CR] exports are quite slow and there may be a problem for re-rollers with licences,” a trader told SteelOrbis.