Iranian flat steel purchases expected to increase in Turkey

This week, demand for flat steel imports in Turkey has remained at low levels, while Turkish buyers have continued to exert downward pressure on import flat steel offers. A Russian steelmaker concluded a deal in Turkey for 22,000 mt of hot rolled coil (HRC) at the beginning of January and no new import flat steel booking has been heard since then. Turkish buyers are only concluding transactions in line with their immediate needs, while they prefer locally produced flat steel due to the price and delivery time advantages. Turkish buyers have started to seek alternative foreign flat steel suppliers after the Turkish Ministry of Economy's announcement on January 22, stating that the antidumping margins for hot rolled coil (HRC) imports have been revised upwards, effective immediately. Market sources state that the volume of Iranian HRC purchases is expected to increase in the coming period due to the new dumping margins. Meanwhile, Iranian HRC offers to Turkey are currently in the range of $280-285/mt CFR.
 
Ukrainian and Russian hot rolled coil (HRC) offers to Turkey have remained unchanged during the past week at $260-270/mt CFR and $265-275/mt CFR, respectively, for February production.
 
On the other hand, Ukrainian and Russian cold rolled coil (CRC) offers to Turkey have also moved sideways in the range of $325-335/mt CFR and $335-355/mt CFR, respectively, also for February production.