Turkey-based flat steel re-rolling companies are operating in somewhat challenging market conditions, facing low demand at home and abroad, while buyers have either decreased their purchase volumes or are insisting on discounts. Particularly, in the domestic market the high interest rates are complicating cash flows and slowing down daily sales volumes, while at the same time preventing end-user demand from recovering. As for exports, the EU market in particular has been slow due to the summer season. At the same time, HRC prices remain rather high these days as the uptrend in China continues. As a result, some of the CRC and coated steel buyers in Turkey are refraining from restocking now, expecting a turndown in the HRC segment.
In the coated market segment, 0.5 mm Z100 HDG is offered locally at $755-770/mt ex-works and slightly above, which is down $5-10/mt over the past week. Export offers for the same HDG specifications are officially at $720-730/mt FOB, but the levels are not workable. Moreover, some re-rollers report that in some markets even $670-680/mt FOB levels are not accepted. PPGI domestic prices are at $850-890/mt ex-works, down $5-10/mt over the past week, while export offers are at around $840-870/mt FOB, relatively in line with last week.
CRC prices in the Turkish domestic market are at $660-670/mt ex-works officially, with $10-15/mt discounts considered possible. However, not all suppliers are in the market, preferring to pass some additional volumes of cold rolled into coated steel, particularly PPGI. As regards exports, CRC is on offer at $630-650/mt FOB Turkey, with higher offers also available from some re-rollers. Particularly, the indications to the EU are at $710-715/mt CFR for September shipments. In the import segment, CRFH material for September shipments is currently available at $570/mt CFR from China and at $570-580/mt CFR from South Korea.
