Improved demand from Europe boosts Turkish flat steel exports

After Italian steelmaker Ilva last week announced the closure of its Taranto-based steel complex and the seizure of its products at ports which were ready for shipment, ex-Turkey flat steel offers have attracted increased interest from Europe. As the uncertainty regarding Ilva continues, other Italian steel mills have closed their sales in their domestic market for the moment and this has resulted in increased demand for ex-Turkey flat steel offers in Italy. Turkish mills' lead times are shorter as compared to other sources, and buyers are giving priority to shorter lead times as they had bought materials from Ilva for December but are unable to receive delivery.
 
Meanwhile, failing to see enough demand in their domestic market, Turkish steel mills have been focusing on the export market and have pushed up their hot rolled coil (HRC) export offers by $10/mt amid strong demand. Once transactions start to be concluded in the export market, it is thought that price increases will be reflected in all other flat steel materials and that further upward price movement will be observed.
 
On the other hand, demand from Europe for Turkish origin cold rolled and color coated materials has not indicated any strengthening yet, while demand for these products could improve soon if the uncertainty surrounding Ilva continues. Meanwhile, there is low but steady demand for Turkish origin coated products in the Middle East and the North Africa.
 
Turkey's current export offers for HRC are standing at $580/mt FOB, indicating an increase of $10/mt as compared to the previous week, while cold rolled coil (CRC) offers are unchanged at $700-710/mt FOB. In the meantime, offers for hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil with 0.5 mm thickness are at $800-805/mt ex-works and color coated coil (PPGI) offers are at $900-910/mt ex-works.