Over the past week, demand in the local Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) market has remained slack as buyers have continued to postpone their bookings due to the sharp depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar and the euro, Ramadan, and the anticipation that global flat steel prices will continue to decline. Amid the weakness of demand and the negative sentiment in the global market, Turkish producers have decreased their prices by $10/mt on the lower end and by $5/mt on the upper end week on week to $580-600/mt ex-works. Market sources state that Turkish buyers will continue to conclude deals only to meet their immediate needs and that demand is unlikely to recover ahead of the snap election in Turkey to be held on June 24.
As for the spot market, trading activity has almost come to halt since buyers have postponed their bookings and sellers have occasionally stopped their sales following the depreciation of the Turkish lira. Meanwhile, prices have decreased by $10/mt week on week. The domestic sales prices of traders for local hot rolled flat steel products in the Eregli and Gebze regions of Turkey are as follows:
|
Product |
Price ($/mt) |
|
|
Eregli |
Gebze |
|
|
2-12 mm HRC |
610-620 |
620-630 |
|
1.5 mm HRS |
650-660 |
665-685 |
|
2-12 mm HRC (for large tonnages) |
|
600-610 |
|
3-12 mm HR P&O |
650-660 |
690-700 |