Plate prices in the Turkish market have increased quite significantly over the past month, partially spurred by additional demand from projects, but in the past two weeks also driven by the uncertainties surrounding the war in the Middle East.
In the domestic plate market, local retail prices for S235JR grade are at $750-760/mt ex-warehouse, while S355JR material of 15-40 mm is at $800-820/mt ex-warehouse. On the mills’ side, Erdemir, according to sources, has increased its local prices by at least $20/mt over the past month to $700-720/mt ex-works for May production. However, some sources report $685-690/mt ex-works levels are still reachable. One of the reasons behind the increase is that the producer has received a contract to supply 40,000 mt for the MUGEM aircraft carrier project, as SteelOrbis reported earlier.
Import offers for base plate grades from China have been reported mainly at $570-580/mt and up to $590/mt CFR for May shipments, up by around $30/mt over the past month. South Korean plate is offered currently at $745-760/mt CFR for St52 and around $710-715/mt CFR for S275JR material. Some sources, however, report higher offers, at $740-750/mt CFR for St44 plate. The offers are for May shipment, but the supplier will shortly be heading for June offers. Over the past month, ex-South Korea plate offers to Turkey have increased by at least $50-60/mt, following the uptrend in the local Turkish market.
Ex-EU plate offers are scarce now with some indications from Bulgaria coming at $930/mt CFR for May shipment, while the Romanian mill has remained out of the market for several months in a row. The Macedonian mill, according to sources, is currently out of the market, being fully booked with the orders until June.