Plate spot prices drop in Turkey, but may rebound by March

Steel plate spot prices in the local Turkish market have declined by $20/mt since last week under pressure from low demand as buyers are seeking to get additional discounts. Moreover, some import offers have declined over the past week. "Despite strong scrap prices, we have not seen better hot rolled coil prices from producers yet. Everyone says prices will increase for flat products too, but nobody is in a hurry. They want to wait and see what happens after the Chinese holiday. We also think prices will increase, but do not expect to see any increase at least until next week. The market is waiting for May offers from the local producer and they are hoping for a clearer market outlook," a trader told SteelOrbis.

In the meantime, local producer Erdemir has closed its April production sales and is expected to announce offers for May shortly. The latest levels from the producer were at $750-770/mt ex-works for S235JR quality and at $790-820/mt ex-works for S355 JR quality plates. Many market participants expect new prices to be at a minimum of $780/mt ex-works for S235JR grade.

On the import side, Bulgaria’s Stomana Industry S.A is offering $800-810/mt CFR for S235JR grade and $840-850/mt CFR for S355JR grade, down $10/mt over the past week. The company is said to have a limited capacity to sell for April deliveries. Romania is in the market with its limited April production allocation, offering at $815-820/mt CFR, unchanged over the week. Offers from Metinvest have been reported at $760-770/mt CFR for April deliveries, also unchanged.

In the shipbuilding plate segment, Macedonia-based Makstil is offering €640/mt CFR for S235JR quality and at €670/mt CFR for S355JR quality, for April deliveries, decreasing by €20/mt over the mentioned period, SteelOrbis has learned.