Following a week of stabilization, Turkish re-rollers have once again increased their offers, supported by firm hot rolled coil (HRC) pricing in the country and increasing import offers. Still, the market for the coated steel has remained rather chaotic and unclear, partly as one of the largest producers is still not offering. In the absence of a key player, both buyers and sellers are having difficulties in predicting the future trend.
Producers believe prices will increase further as their order books are pretty much filled. In addition, HRC keeps trending up, supporting mills’ positive expectations. "We have sold out our production until July, some until August. Prices are increasing for all flats, also for raw materials. The Asian and European markets are strong and our export demand is also strong. With the better weather conditions, better demand comes from export destinations traditionally. Also, vaccinations have now better momentum worldwide and we expect a relaxation of Covid-19 measures in the target markets. In this situation, it is normal to see better prices in coated steel markets," a producer told SteelOrbis.
However, buyers are skeptical. They believe prices have already increased by huge amounts over the past few weeks and that the current levels are hardly sustainable also due to financial issues caused by currency fluctuations. "Producers are already ready for the next price increase but they are giving discounts on the current prices, because buyers are weak in terms of finance and nobody knows how deep this problem goes. Buyers have already faced financial problems and have not succeeded in receiving all their ready material from producers' stocks. Producers' stocks are increasing every day and this poses a danger to the market," a trader told SteelOrbis. High spot stocks are usually considered a signal for a price downturn in the market and it makes buyers cautious. Currently, they are not in a rush to purchase as they believe there will be no serious lack of supply in the coming months and, if they are not able to restock from the producers, they believe the needed volumes can be found in the spot market, SteelOrbis understands.
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Turkish domestic prices (ex-works) |
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Product |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
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HDG 0.50 mm 100gr/m² |
1,220-1,300 |
+10/+20 |
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HDG 1 mm 100gr/m² |
1,200-1,220 |
+10 |
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HDG 2 mm 100gr/m² |
1,150-1,190 |
+10 |
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PPGI RAL 9002 0.3 mm 100 gr/m² |
1,480-1,500 |
+70 |
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PPGI RAL 9002 0.5 mm 100 gr/m² |
1,320-1,350 |
+70/+50 |
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PPGI RAL 9002 1 mm 100 gr/m² |
1,270-1,320 |
+60 |
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Turkish export quotations (FOB) |
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Product |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
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HDG 0.50 mm 100gr/m² |
1,200-1,250 |
+10 |
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PPGI RAL 9002 0.5 mm 100 gr/m² |
1,300-1,330 |
+60 |