According to market sources, demand in the Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) spot market is still slack this week. During the past week, HRC prices have declined by $20/mt, while hot rolled pickled and oiled coil (HR P&O) prices have decreased by $10/mt, while cash flow problems continue to be seen in the market. However, buyers are reluctant to conclude deals due to the fluctuations of the US dollar-Turkish lira exchange rate.
On the other hand, Turkish producers’ HRC prices have remained stable over the past week at $340-350/mt ex-works for November production. However, import HRC prices in Turkey have decreased again in the deals concluded this week, thereby increasing the downward pressure on Turkish producers’ HRC prices. Besides, buyers are seeking to conclude deals for domestic HRC at lower prices and are postponing their bookings for now.
The domestic sales prices of traders for local and imported hot rolled flat steel products in the Eregli and Gebze regions of Turkey are as follows:
Product |
Price ($/mt) |
|
Eregli |
Gebze |
|
2-12 mm HRC |
350-360 |
355-365 |
1.5 mm HRS |
390-400 |
385-395 |
2-12 mm HRC (for large volume sales) |
|
340-350 |
3-12 mm HR P&O |
410-420 |
425-430 |
The above prices are ex-warehouse and for advance payments, exclusive of 18 percent VAT.