Domestic traders in Turkey have provided significant discounts in their flats ex-warehouse prices, partly due to the fall in the mills’ prices over the same period, but also due to the drop in the lira/USD exchange range. A lot of market players expect further decline of the spot prices as the sellers might be eager to turn their stocks into cash.
Over the week the spot prices for hot-rolled sheets (HRS) dropped by $30-50/mt to the general range of $900-930/mt ex-warehouse, the actual workable prices. Still, some of the traders have their official offers at $950-970/mt ex-warehouse but are selling at 3-5 percent discount. In the meantime, mills’ hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices have dipped to $900-920/mt ex-works and $880-890/mt ex-works levels are discussed as possible for the large buyers.
Spot prices for cold-rolled sheets (CRS) in Turkey have settled at $1,130-1,170/mt officially, but the workable levels are reported at $1,110-1,150/mt, both on the ex-warehouse basis. Re-rollers in Turkey are now at $1,040-1,080/mt ex-works for cold-rolled coils.
The spot price range for the steel plate in Turkey is rather wide, depending on the seller’s stock level and the company size. The general level for S235JR plate is $920-1,000/mt ex-warehouse, while some of the traders are still holding their official prices at $1,100/mt ex-warehouse and above. Local Erdemir base price is at $980-1,000/mt ex-works, while S235JR plate import prices vary within the $930-1,090/mt CFR range depending on the supplier, as SteelOrbis reported before.
As a result, the ex-warehouse flat steel prices are nowadays mainly lower than the producers offers, which creates concerns in the market and undermines mills’ positions. “Local stocks are under stress and selling out fast to turn into cash. Now they have advantage against producers in local market,” a trader told SteelOrbis. This is expected to be another factor of pressure on the Turkish mills to decrease their prices further so that they are able to get the orders.
