Coated steel prices up again in Turkey

With the support of the latest increase in hot rolled coil prices (HRC) in the country, Turkish coated steel offers have increased again by $10-20/mt over the past week. However, this uptrend is still lack of demand support. "Higher HRC prices always mean higher coated steel prices in the market but we think we have already reached the top levels. Demand is really sluggish and buyers are really cautious about new levels. Producers are still offering for October and they are determined to accelerate their sales immediately. This means we can see a downward price correction soon," a re-roller told SteelOrbis. As a result, re-rolling companies are currently squeezed between the increased costs and low coated steel trade. “We understand why buyers do not want to buy at the moment, prices have increased so much and there are great uncertainties in the market because of Covid-19 and economic instability. If HRC prices have a correction, coated steel prices will decline too. Otherwise we can see only small discounts in the market," another re-roller said.

On the export side, buyers have been silent due to summer season and there are no positive expectations for demand in the short run. “After the holiday season we do not expect to see fully recovered market conditions. All markets have already been terribly affected by Covid-19 and buyers all around the world are cautious. They continue to buy from local sources in small lots because of the fear of possible lockdowns," an exporter said. In the meantime, coated steel offers from Turkey to export markets have also increased by $10-20/mt due to higher feedstock costs.