In the import plate segment in Turkey, prices are currently settled in a very wide range depending on the origin. Still, Asian plate is priced at the most affordable levels, while the allocation from the EU is still limited and the prices are the highest in the market.
South Korea is currently offering St44 plate at $650-660/mt CFR for May shipments, up from $610-620/mt CFR in early March. In the meantime, China has been in the market with $550-560/mt CFR base import offers, marking the lowest level in the Turkish market. “Still too low and, even despite the long delivery term [end of June] the offer is messing up the market since the price difference is too big,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
The number of European plate offers to Turkey is limited since the Romanian supplier is still out of the market due to production issues. In the meantime, the Bulgarian producer has raised its offers from $735/mt to $800/mt CFR over almost three weeks and is now offering for end of May shipments. The rising costs based on higher-priced raw materials and energy, coupled with the increased strength of the euro, are named among the key reasons for the price increase. Import plate offers from Macedonia are at €735/mt CFR or around $805/mt CFR on US dollar basis.
The local plate producer, according to sources, is pricing its material for May production mainly depending on the customer and on the order breakdown. While some market players report deals at $650-660/mt ex-works, while others inform about price indications from the mill at $670-690/mt ex-works and even up to $700/mt ex-works. In the retail market, according to sources, the plate prices are mainly at $710-730/mt ex-warehouse currently.