Over the past week, demand has remained low in the local Turkish plate market while prices have continued to move down. Market sources state that buyers have high stocks and are placing low-priced orders with suppliers. Overall, players are aiming to evaluate the situation in China and its influence on the market.
Traders in Turkey have again decreased their offers for St37 grade 15-40 mm x 1,500 mm plate by $10/mt. Currently, in the Gebze region the product is available at $560-580/mt ex-warehouse and in the Eregli region offers are at $550-570/mt ex-warehouse, SteelOrbis has learned. Prices are for advance payment for February deliveries. On the other hand, local producer Erdemir has decreased its domestic plate offers by $20/mt to $570-580/mt ex-works for March deliveries. Buyers, however, say that discounts of up to $10-15/mt are possible in the case of serious inquiries.
In the import segment, Ukraine-based Metinvest continues to offer $545/mt CFR for plate for March production and April delivery, while Bulgaria’s Stomana Industry S.A. is in the market with $570/mt CFR offers for March production.
Also Macedonia's Makstil's list prices are at $620-625/mt CFR Turkey for ship plates for March deliveries, but $600-610/mt CFR can be acceptable for firm bids, as SteelOrbis learned.