The Turkish flats market has finished the current week with another price decline, following the steep decline in the scrap segment, low domestic and export demand for hot-rolled coil (HRC), and extremely slow business in the coated and cold-rolled coil (CRC) segments. Imports have been inactive and some sellers from Russia have been trying to convince buyers to conclude new purchases, but the price idea in Turkey has declined along with the weaker market sentiment.
In the domestic market, some sellers are offering $750-760/mt ex-works for July-early August deliveries, while some are still trying to stick to $770-800/mt ex-works in official indications. Demand is quite slow since the levels of stocks in the market are high, while the trade for sheets, coated steel and pipes has been really slow recently. As a result, the pressure on the mills has increased and a lot of sources believe $740/mt ex-works is already possible and that prices will continue declining further.
The local coated steel prices are relatively stable from last week, although a lot of re-rollers report that demand and sales are extremely slow and reductions of $20-30/mt obtainable in some cases. HDG stands at $920-950/mt ex-works base, but in reality there are some mills ready to trade at $890-900/mt ex-works, SteelOrbis has learned. Domestic PPGI prices are at $1,010-1,030/mt ex-works, while it is believed that $1,000/mt ex-works will soon be the highest level in the market. In the CRC segment, most of the offers are at $890-920/mt ex-works, down $10/mt over the week. However, some sources say $870/mt ex-works is achievable from some suppliers. “The real problem is lower demand and stagnation. The prices are changing every day,” a source said.
In the import segment, Turkey’s interest in Russian HRC has diminished, following the downturn in scrap prices and the unfavorable flats market overall. After selling last week at $740/mt CFR levels, some of the mills dropped offers to $730/mt CFR in the middle of the week, but by the end of the week, according to sources, most of them were having trouble selling and are ready to sell at $700/mt CFR. Moreover, even $680/mt CFR levels have been rumored in the market. “Everyone knows that Russia is desperate to sell and since there are sanctions and the market is definitely decreasing, they are having trouble convincing Turkish customers to pay decent levels,” a source told SteelOrbis.
