Turkey’s steel plate market has witnessed a nosedive in import prices, mainly in prices coming from Europe and South Korea. The main reason for European mills to decrease prices is that their offers were largely overpriced previously and the price levels are now getting closer to the market reality. In the meantime, a supplier from South Korea has dropped its price as its offers are for January shipments, which is too risky to book for now.
Steel plate offers from Romania to Turkey decreased by $80/mt over the past two weeks to $1,120/mt CFR for November shipments. The Bulgaria-based supplier has offered at $1,100/mt CFR for the same shipment terms, down $70/mt over the same period. In the meantime, the South Korean supplier is offering at $860/mt CFR, which is $120/mt lower than the prices of two weeks ago. In the meantime, China is offering at $900/mt CFR for shipyards, while the prices for shipbuilding grade plate from Macedonia, according to sources, are on offer at $980-1,000/mt CFR.
Locally, Erdemir is officially offering at $1,000-1,050/mt ex-works base, but a lot of buyers say $20/mt discounts are on the table. Turkey’s retailers are selling plates at $1,150-1,220/mt ex-warehouse, down $40-90/mt over the past two weeks.
