Turkish re-rolling companies have been reporting that demand for their products is currently rather on the slow side, following some sales closed mainly to the domestic market at prices discounted from official offers. Most sellers are offering material for April production, while some claim they have already started to offer for May. In terms of prices, some sellers have decreased their official offers, while some have preferred to stick to the previous levels and to increase the size of discounts. The overall market sentiment generally lacks optimism for now, giving the still negative import scrap price trend and sliding hot rolled coil prices.
Currently, the highest official prices for hot-dip galvanized 0.5mmZ100 material for the local market are at $890-910/mt ex-works, similar to last week. However, according to buyers, some of the suppliers are ready to sell their material at the level of Z70, which is at $850-875/mt ex-works. “Not all [re-rollers] but some can do it, which means their order books are a bit under pressure,” a market source told SteelOrbis. As for exports, 0.5 mm Z100 material is mainly available at $830-850/mt FOB, $20-30/mt down from last week’s official levels, but some of the players report levels as low as $800-815/mt FOB might be acceptable in some cases.
Turkey’s PPGI prices have moved down only by $10/mt from the lower end in the domestic market to $990-1,030/mt ex-works, while export offers have remained at $1,000-1,020/mt FOB, though $20/mt discounts are applicable in some cases.
In the cold rolled coil (CRC) segment, local prices are at $800-830/mt ex-works, $10/mt down on the lower end over the week. As for exports, a majority of the reports state $800-810/mt FOB in official offers, but the workable levels are considered to be at $760-770/mt FOB and even slightly below.