Domestic and export demand for Turkey’s cold rolled coil (CRC) has been subdued lately as buyers aim to evaluate the current market situation and possible future developments. Some say that prices rose too far previously and are now waiting for mills to provide additional discounts.
Most mills have increased their offers by $20/mt over the past week to $1,430-1,470/mt ex-works depending on availability and the month of production. However, some market players report that actual deal prices may descend to $1,400/mt ex-works and even slightly below. A similar situation is seen in the export segment where the mills prefer to deal with each buyer individually. The average offer level has been heard at $1,410-1,430/mt FOB, with some deals reportedly closed at below $1,400/mt FOB.
In the import segment, the number of offers remains scarce with traders mainly offering Chinese origin material at mixed prices. Some sources reported that full hard material has been on offer this week at $970-990/mt CFR, while commercial grade CRC, according to market information, has been available at $1,100-1,120/mt CFR. No interest has been seen since there is a certain risk in buying from China today. Moreover, these levels are considered high when compared to hot rolled coil import offers which have been very competitive lately. The most recent deals for ex-India HRC have been closed at around $1,020/mt CFR, as SteelOrbis reported previously.
