Over the past week, demand for import flat steel in the Turkish market has remained slack. Being unwilling to make new bookings as they cannot predict the price trend for the period after the upcoming local elections to be held on March 31, Turkish buyers have continued to postpone their bookings and to exert pressure on prices. Meanwhile, CIS-based suppliers have decreased their prices slightly as a result of buyers’ requests for lower prices, though they are unwilling to decrease their prices further due to the rises in raw material prices, despite the ongoing pressure on prices. Market sources state that no recovery is expected in terms of import flat steel demand in Turkey until the election is over. Additionally, Turkish buyers are likely to continue exerting pressure on import flat steel prices in the short term as they believe that the prices have not reached the bottom yet and since Turkish steel exporters are still facing downward pressure on their prices in the global market.
During the past week, ex-CIS hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC) offers to Turkey have decreased by $5/mt to $520-540/mt CFR and $570-595/mt CFR, respectively.