Over the past week, demand in the local Turkish pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) market has remained slack. Following the Turkish Central Bank’s announcement of an interest rate hike on September 13, the Turkish lira gained strength against the US dollar and bookings of domestic PPGI in Turkey recovered slightly. However, as the Turkish lira again depreciated against the US dollar in the following days, trading activity in the local Turkish PPGI market has slowed down again. Market sources state that buyers are expected to maintain a cautious stance and to make bookings only to meet their immediate needs, while trading activity in the market is likely to slow down due to the hike in interest rates.
Turkish producers' domestic PPGI prices are still at $970-1,000/mt for RAL 9002 0.3 mm 100 gr/m² zinc-coated PPGI, at $810-830/mt for RAL 9002 0.5 mm PPGI and at $700-740/mt for RAL 9002 1 mm PPGI. All the offers in question are on ex-works basis and exclude 18 percent VAT.
During the past week, demand for Turkish PPGI in export markets has remained lively, though buyers have continued to put pressure on prices. However, Turkish PPGI offers to the export markets have remained stable and are still in the range of $810-820/mt FOB.