Demand for import flat steel in Turkey is still weak since buyers prefer to postpone their bookings, holding the view that prices have not hit bottom yet. Meanwhile, over the past week, import flat steel offers to Turkey have decreased in line with the ongoing downtrend of global flat steel prices. However, Chinese flat steel offers to the export markets have switched to an upward trend since the Chinese steel futures market has started to increase as of today, October 13. If Chinese steel prices continue their upward movement, then the downward trend of global flat steel prices is expected to come to a halt in the coming days.
Over the past week, Ukrainian hot rolled coil (HRC) offers to Turkey have decreased by $27.5/mt on average to $570-580/mt CFR and Russian HRC offers to Turkey have declined by $25/mt on average to $570-590/mt CFR. Meanwhile, Ukrainian and Russian cold rolled coil (CRC) offers to Turkey have decreased week on week, with prices declining by $30/mt to $600-610/mt CFR and by $40/mt to $600-620/mt CFR, respectively.