Even though demand for flat steel imports in Turkey has improved slightly over the past week, it is still on the weak side. Meanwhile, buyers are in no rush to make purchases and they are hesitating to conclude import deals due to the political tensions between Turkey and Russia.
Also, although there has not been any official announcement yet, there are rumors that the Turkish government may revise the customs duty rates on imported iron and steel in January next year and this possibility is another factor causing Turkish buyers to be cautious about concluding bookings of flat steel imports.
Meanwhile, ex-Ukraine hot rolled coil (HRC) offers to Turkey have remained stable over the past month at $270-280/mt CFR for January production, while Russian HRC offers to Turkey have increased by $5/mt on the upper end to $275-290/mt CFR. However, offers of Russian HRC at $270/mt CFR are also possible for high tonnage bookings.
In addition, it is heard that last week Turkish buyers booked an ex-Netherlands cargo of 30,000-40,000 mt of HRC at $290-295/mt CFR, on effective basis.
On the other hand, Ukrainian and Russian cold rolled coil (CRC) offers to Turkey have remained stable over the past month at $330-340/mt CFR and $340-360/mt CFR, respectively, for January production.