Import flat steel demand in Turkey has decreased further over the past week. As a result of the sharp depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar, Turkish buyers’ price inquiries both for import and domestically produced steel have slowed down, while demand for import flat steel has almost ground to a halt. Market sources state that demand for import flat steel in Turkey is not expected to recover in the short term given the negative outlook for the Turkish economy and also due to Ramadan, and so buyers are expected to continue to refrain from purchases, except to meet their immediate needs.
During the past week, ex-CIS flat steel offers to Turkey have remained stable. Currently, ex-CIS hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC) offers to Turkey are still at $485-510/mt CFR and $565-590/mt CFR, respectively.