Demand remains sluggish in Turkish stainless steel market

Market sources state that Turkish mills' local offers for prime quality 304/2B stainless steel cold rolled coil (CRC) of 2.0 mm thickness for September production have remained unchanged week on week in the range of $2,100-2,150/mt ex-works, for September deliveries. In the same period, Turkish traders' stainless steel offers in the local spot market have moved sideways in the range of $2,300-2,350/mt ex-warehouse, for advance payment. Market players state that demand in the Turkish domestic stainless steel market has been sluggish in the same period.
 
According to market sources, Turkish producers' offers to the export markets for the abovementioned stainless products have remained stable over the past week at $2,050-2,100/mt ex-works. Market players state that demand for Turkish stainless steel in the export markets has been slack and only sales of small tonnages of Turkish stainless steel have been concluded to eastern Europe.
 
Meanwhile, ex-Europe stainless steel offers in Turkey for second quality 304/2B stainless steel cold rolled coil of 2.0 mm thickness have declined by €230/mt ($260/mt) to €1,770/mt ($2,000/mt) CIF. However, Turkish buyers consider this price level to be on the high side against the backdrop of the strengthening of the euro against the Turkish lira. In addition, stainless steel offers from China and Taiwan to Turkey have remained unchanged over the past week in the range of $1,800-1,850/mt CIF Istanbul, while ex-Far East offers are still not considered to be an alternative for the European offers due to freight costs and delivery times. Accordingly, Turkish buyers have been focusing on their local market in order to meet their immediate needs.
 
The cash and settlement nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) has fluctuated upwards, increasing by $300/mt since September 3, closing the day at $10,325/mt on September 10.