Domestic prices for cold rolled coil (CRC) in Turkey have once again increased in the past week, indicating a 10th consecutive week of solid upward movement. And although the bullish sentiment among the sellers is more or less justified by active demand and limited allocation, many market players consider the current CRC levels to be quite unreasonable since they are in some cases higher than prices for hot dip galvanized coils (HDG).
Over the past week, local CRC prices in Turkey have surged by $60-70/mt in a few separate steps, reaching $1,340-1,370/mt ex-works. Some suppliers are said to be voicing even $1,400/mt ex-works. “These levels are speculative. Those who have sold out their capacities announce higher prices. Producers are coming [with offers] for August-September production,” a source told SteelOrbis. In the meantime, local HDG prices have increased by $30-40/mt over the past week and are mainly ranging within $1,300-1,380/mt ex-works base, while the usual difference with CRC prices is $80/mt on average.
Such a situation is not considered healthy and market players report that the workable level for the CRC in the local market in Turkey should be at $1,300-1,350/mt ex-works at the highest.