Over the past week, demand in the local Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) market has remained slack. Having postponed their bookings before the New Year holiday, local buyers have started to make inquiries as of January 2. However, they are exerting pressure on prices due to the negative economic situation in Turkey, since European buyers’ firm bids for Turkish HRC are quite low despite the expectation that Turkish HRC exports to the region will increase, and due to their strong expectation that global HRC prices will continue to soften. Under these circumstances, Turkish buyers have reduced their firm bids to $460-470/mt ex-works. Meanwhile, Turkish producers’ have maintained their prices unchanged as compared to the previous week at $500-520/mt ex-works, though they will likely conclude deals at $480-500/mt ex-works as a result of negotiations during transactions.
In the given week, demand in the Turkish HRC spot market has also remained slack and traders’ prices have remained stable. Domestic sales prices of traders for local HRC in Turkey’s Eregli and Gebze regions are at the following levels:
|
Product |
Price ($/mt) |
|
|
Eregli |
Gebze |
|
|
2-12 mm HRC |
510-520 |
520-530 |
|
1.5 mm HRS |
550-560 |
565-585 |
|
2-12 mm HRC (for large tonnages) |
500-510 |
|
|
3-12 mm HR P&O |
540-550 |
580-590 |