Over the past week, demand in the local Turkish CRC market has remained slack, while producers’ prices have remained stable week on week at $580-600/mt ex-works. Buyers in the market have continued to postpone their purchases due to the depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar, the negative economic situation in Turkey and Ramadan. Market sources state that they are not expecting to see any recovery in domestic CRC demand in Turkey due to the approach of the summer season and the ongoing negative economic situation. However, due to the sharp rises in iron ore prices and due to the positive sentiment in Turkish steel market since the US has reduced the 50 percent duty on Turkish steel imports to 25 percent as of May 17, Turkish flat steel producers may increase their prices in the short term.
In the spot market, prices of domestic CRC sold by local traders have moved sideways week on week and are at the following levels:
|
Product |
Price ($/mt) |
|
|
Eregli |
Gebze |
|
|
0.6 mm CRC |
650-660 |
660-680 |
|
0.7-2 mm CRC |
620-640 |
630-650 |
The offers are on ex-warehouse basis, for May delivery, and exclude 18 percent VAT.