In Turkey, the new week has started with little change in hot rolled coil (HRC) prices since Chinese suppliers have returned from their holidays with relatively stable offers. Overall demand is still a little on the slow side, particularly from re-rollers since they have been observing a price weakening for their own materials.
Local prices for HRC in Turkey are now mainly at $690-715/mt ex-works depending on the supplier, while a few offers are still voiced at $720/mt ex-works. The material is available mainly for April deliveries. Export offers are at $690-700/mt FOB still, but indicatively, while some suppliers admit $680/mt FOB levels are seen for sizeable orders. Moreover, some market players expect an additional $10/mt softening given the ongoing downturn in the EU.
Import offers from China have been announced by several traders at $595/mt CFR for Q195 material of 3 mm and higher, more or less in line with the pre-holiday levels.
In the coated segment, most mills have preferred to keep their official offer levels stable for now, but sellers are mostly ready to provide sizeable discounts. The offers for 0.5 mm Z100 HDG are now voiced mainly at $885-910/mt ex-works, although some sellers are still offering at $940/mt ex-works. However, the higher end is not considered workable and most suppliers are ready to provide $20-30/mt discounts at least. As a result, the workable price for HDG Z70-100 in the domestic market is mainly evaluated at $870-895/mt ex-works, depending on the producer, order size and the lead time. As for exports, the workable price levels for Z100 material are reported at $850-880/mt FOB, versus $870-900/mt FOB in official offers.
The situation seen in the CRC segment is quite similar, with official offers at $830-870/mt ex-works/FOB still. In the meantime, for exports $800-830/mt FOB and below may be achievable from some suppliers, while domestically workable levels are close to $810-840/mt ex-works, SteelOrbis understands.