Plate prices under pressure in Turkey, demand low

Prices have been stable in the Turkish steel plate market since last week and demand has remained low. Traders are unwilling to give discounts due to strong prices of scrap and of flat steel from producers, but buyers have been pushing for lower levels. As a  result, $10-20/mt discounts are considered possible in the market but only for sizable orders. "Demand has been low for a long time because there are not so many projects in the market due to the Covid-19 outbreak and new investments have been delayed. Traders do not want to miss big tonnage deals naturally and they give discounts. But on the other hand raw material prices are strong and production costs are high for steel plates. In this situation, producers do not give any discounts," a trader told SteelOrbis.

Local producer Erdemir has kept its prices at $580-590/mt ex-works for S235JR quality and $610-620/mt ex-works for S355 JR quality plates, for January production.

Import prices have also remained stable over the same period. In the import market, Bulgaria’s Stomana Industry S.A. is now offering at $550-560/mt CFR for S235JR grade and at $600-610/mt CFR for S355JR grade, for December production. Offers from Romania are now standing at $540-550/mt CFR for S235JR quality, for December deliveries. Offers from South Korea are standing at $540/mt CFR for S235JR quality and at $600/mt for S355JR, both for December deliveries, as SteelOrbis has learned. Also, import plate prices from Metinvest have been heard at $520/mt CFR in the market for December deliveries.

In the shipbuilding plate segment, prices have not changed, Macedonia-based Makstil’s price is at €500/mt CFR for S235JR quality and €530/mt CFR for S355JR quality, for November-December deliveries, SteelOrbis has learned.

Retail plate prices in Turkey, $/mt