The market sentiment in the plate market of Turkey has been rather pessimistic before the holiday, being under effect of the sharp downturn seen in the hot-rolled coil (HRC) segment. In addition, the local plate consumption has remained limited and overall business activity has declined. Some of the import offers have decreased over two weeks, narrowing down the gap with the domestic levels, however, ex-EU plate remains costly for the Turkish buyers.
Import offers from Europe have remained high from Bulgaria and Macedonia, while Romanian supplier provided a significant discount over two weeks. Galati is offering $1,780-1,800/mt CFR, down by $180-200/mt over two weeks. In the meantime, Stomana decreased the offer by $90/mt to $1,900/mt CFR for July production. Makstil is offering €1,740/mt CFR or around $1,830/mt CFR, $55/mt down over two weeks due to currency fluctuations. Plate offers from South Korea are among the most competitive ones - $1,750-1,760/mt CFR for S355JR grade, SteelOrbis has learned.
In the domestic market, the traders are offering S235JR plates at $1,750-1,760/mt ex-warehouse, while S355JR grade has been available at $1,800-1,820/mt ex-warehouse. As a result, the price ranges have significantly narrowed down compared to mid-April.
