According to market sources, demand in the Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) spot market is still quiet. Buyers have postponed their purchases ahead of the New Year and are only concluding deals in line with their needs. Meanwhile, cash flow problems have continued to be experienced in the Turkish HRC spot market. HRC and hot rolled pickled and oiled coil (HR P&O) prices in the Turkish spot market have decreased by $10/mt during the past two weeks.
On the other hand, Turkish producers' HRC prices have also remained unchanged in the given period at $320-330/mt ex-works for December and January production. Meanwhile, demand for Turkish producers' HRC is still weak. Buyers are only concluding transactions in line with their needs, preferring locally produced HRC instead of imports, mainly due to foreign suppliers' decision to reject most of their firm bids. Market sources state that in November deals below the abovementioned price range were concluded and that Turkish producers are still offering volume discounts, depending on buyer and tonnage.
The domestic sales prices of traders for local and imported hot rolled flat steel products in the Eregli and Gebze regions of Turkey are as follows:
Product |
Price ($/mt) |
|
Eregli |
Gebze |
|
2-12 mm HRC |
350-360 |
355-365 |
1.5 mm HRS |
390-400 |
385-395 |
2-12 mm HRC (for large tonnages) |
340-350 |
|
3-12 mm HR P&O |
400-410 |
415-420 |
The above prices are ex-warehouse and for advance payments, exclusive of 18 percent VAT.