Flats prices in Turkey have risen sharply this week, first triggered by the energy-related production cuts, and later fuelled by the EU announcement regarding its coated steel investigation. As a result, domestic demand for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Turkey has increased due to some restocking as buyers fear there will be not enough allocation. In addition, re-rollers, while purchasing HRC, have increased export and domestic offers for their products, inspired by the reopening of opportunities for sales to Europe.
On January 26, the European Commission announced it will not impose a provisional measure in the framework of the ongoing antidumping investigation on corrosion-resistant steel imports from Turkey and Russia. “It means that there will be only the final one which is due on August 23. And that means that at least during the February-May period Turkey will not be restricted in its coated steel sales to the EU,” a trader said. Naturally, this news has resulted in improved sentiment among re-rollers, who are now trying to allocate shipments with closer delivery dates for export and have increased their official offers quite significantly.
In particular, most local base hot-dip galvanized (HDG) offers are now at $1,170-1,190/mt ex-works, reflecting a $100/mt price increase over the past week. Moreover, by the end of today some mills have increased prices to $1,200-1,220/mt ex-works, SteelOrbis has learned. HDG export offers are at $1,150-1,170/mt FOB base, up by $70-80/mt. “Re-rollers are certainly pushing prices up, but this is too much of an increase for today. We may see more realistic levels next week as these prices are not workable for the EU,” a trader said. Local pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) prices are now reported at $1,270-1,300/mt ex-works base, up by $100-120/mt over the same period. Currently, most re-rollers are in the market to sell for April, while some are trying to allocate for export in March. In the cold-rolled coil (CRC) market, pricing is rather unclear: some of the sources report $1,100-1,150/mt ex-works levels, while some say $1,170/mt ex-works levels are also on the table.
The latest local offers for HRC in Turkey have been set at $890-900/mt ex-works for April production, up by $30-40/mt since earlier this week. “They all increased prices domestically. It is the effect of the EU announcement. In particular, re-rollers are in the market,” a producer told SteelOrbis. The highest level achieved in deals has been reported at $880/mt ex-works. In the import segment, bids to Indian mills are at $830/mt CFR, while offers have risen as high as $860/mt CFR. The CIS-based mills are still not in the market with firm offers, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to sell at higher levels amid the price uptrend, SteelOrbis understands.
