Little change has been seen in the level of demand in Turkey’s steel plate market over the past month, while prices have been moving in line with suppliers’ position. European plate prices have remained relatively unchanged due to supply restrictions and higher local plate prices in the EU. In the meantime, Asian materials have decreased pricewise, contrary to the hikes made by the domestic plate producer in Turkey
In the import segment, European plate is among the higher-priced. Particularly, Bulgaria is offering at $760/mt CFR and Romania is offering at $740-750/mt CFR, for early December shipments. Notably, the Romanian mill is undergoing a stoppage at its blast furnace and expects to restart sometime in November. Macedonia’s Makstil is reported to be offering base plate grades at €710/mt CFR.
Asian suppliers are also present in the market, with China offering at $570-580/mt CFR for S235 and up to $600/mt CFR for higher grades, down by around $20-30/mt over the past month. South Korea is officially pricing its S237 plate at $630-640/mt CFR for December-January shipments, although some buyers have reported that as low as $590/mt CFR may also be available.
In the domestic plate market, retail prices for S235-275 grades are at $710-720/mt ex-warehouse, while S355JR material is at $820-840/mt ex-warehouse, down $10/mt over the past month. The local plate producer, according to sources, is offering at $730-750/mt ex-works for base grades and at $770-780/mt ex-works for more sophisticated breakdowns. In mid-September, the domestic offers were at around $670-680/mt ex-works for base grades.