Prices of Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) have not changed much after the holiday since demand has remained insufficient and buyers are very hesitant in both the domestic and export markets. In the meantime, Chinese offers have inched up slightly, but customers, particularly re-rollers in Turkey, are not in a rush to book given the slow sales of coated and cold rolled products. Overall, most market players do not expect any significant change in the market in the very near future.
Turkey’s local HRC prices for end-of-August deliveries have remained at $580-590/mt ex-works base with slightly lower levels considered achievable for tonnages above 10,000 mt. However, no deals have been reported recently. As regards exports, trade has also been rather quiet with only around 15,000 mt sold to the UK and Ukraine at around $580/mt FOB. Bids from large southern European customers have been rather low, reported at $560-570/mt FOB for the most part and for closer shipment dates. Import HRC offers from China have inched up by $5/mt in official offers to $555/mt CFR, while $550/mt CFR is also considered valid. However, though some negotiations are underway, no fresh deals have been reported.
In the CR segment, domestic prices for August-September production have decreased by $10/mt on the lower end to $690-720/mt ex-works, while export levels have been reported another $10/mt lower than that. The domestic HDG prices are at $800-830/mt ex-works still, but $780-790/mt ex-works is considered reachable, while for export the producers are ready to start talks at $770-810/mt FOB. Commercial quality pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) stands at $930-940/mt ex-works/FOB, slightly down on the upper end from last week.