While European plate suppliers to the Turkish market are forced to maintain high price levels due to their increased production costs, some competitive offers have started to come from Asia. Local plate demand remains moderate in Turkey and the prices for domestic origin plate are relatively stable and seem to be acceptable to buyers.
Plate suppliers from Romania and Bulgaria have maintained their offer levels at $1,200/mt and $1,170/mt, both on CFR basis and for November shipments. The prices are on the high side for buyers, given competitive offers from the local producer in Turkey and from some Asia-based producers. In particular, one South Korean seller is offering at $980/mt CFR for November-December shipments, while another is currently out of the market due to recent flood-related issues. In the meantime, China is in the market with $950/mt CFR offers for shipbuilding material, SteelOrbis has learned.
In the domestic market, local producer Erdemir is offering plate for November production at $1,000-1,050/mt ex-works, although last week some buyers received discounts down to $980-990/mt ex-works. The local retail prices are relatively stable over the past two weeks at $1,240-1,260/mt ex-warehouse, while stocks are evaluated by sellers being at medium levels.