Although end-user demand in the Turkish flat steel market is sluggish with the influence of Ramadan, local market players, traders and pipe makers in particular continue to purchase hot and cold rolled coils. Both decreased inventory levels and expectations that market demand may recover after September are the main reasons for continuing buying activity. Despite the weak final product demand, the strong trend of raw material prices also has an impact on this situation.
In the Turkish domestic market, it is expected that demand will gain strength and the market will pick up momentum after the summer holidays and Ramadan. So far, it may be said that the holidays of manufacturers and steel mills have not come to an end and some sectors such as automotive and home appliances have not yet started to resume operations. Therefore, expectations for a rebound in the flat steel market have been postponed to the post-Ramadan and end-of-summer period.
Flat steel producers in Turkey have filled their order books for September and have now started to collect orders for October. Producers' price levels have remained unchanged as compared to previous weeks. Thus, Erdemir's offers to the domestic market for hot and cold rolled coils are standing at the base price levels of $640/mt and $740-750/mt respectively. Çolakoğlu Metalurji's offers for hot rolled coils of 3-8 mm thickness are at the base price level of $635/mt, while Tosyalı is offering its own production hot rolled products at $620-625/mt.
Looking at imports, SteelOrbis has heard from market sources that Ukrainian flat steel mill Zaporizhstal has this week concluded HRC and CRC sales to Turkey at price levels of $615/mt CFR and $710/mt CFR respectively. Meanwhile, it is also heard that another Ukrainian mill Ilyich's production hot rolled coils have been sold to Turkey via traders at $590-595/mt CFR.
The steel plate market has been quieter than the market for hot rolled coils. Ukrainian flat steel producer Alchevsk is heard to be offering commercial grade steel plates to the Turkish market at the level of $665-670/mt CFR. Meanwhile, it is heard that Erdemir, which has not operated its plate rolling mill for a long time, is going to start collecting plate orders. Both Erdemir's local and export prices are expected to become clear next week.
Looking at the spot markets, prices of hot rolled (2 mm) and cold rolled (1-2mm) flat steel products continue to be heard at $640-660/mt and $760-780/mt respectively. Cold rolled products of 0.4-0.7 mm width are generally being offered at around $790-810/mt.
While end-user demand has not fully returned to the market, the strong trend of raw materials and the low levels of import allocations to Turkey indicate that local producers will maintain their high price levels in the coming days.