Turkey's flat steel spot market has remained largely inactive this week, as the summer slowdown has added further pressure to already limited purchasing activity. Buyers continue to avoid restocking due to weak end-user demand and financial constraints, while the softer mood in the domestic HRC segment is also weighing on sheet prices. Although scrap prices have increased recently, the rise has provided little support for spot quotations, as persistent demand weakness continues to dominate market conditions. Traders remain willing to offer discounts to conclude sales, but even the lower workable levels have failed to attract meaningful buying interest.
“The summer slowdown has now fully taken hold of the market, but the current weakness cannot be explained by seasonality alone. Demand is almost completely absent, and buyers are not responding even to more competitive offers. We have been discussing the same conditions for several months, which shows that the main problem is the lack of demand rather than the price itself,” a trader told SteelOrbis
As a result, hot rolled sheet prices have remained unchanged this week at $620-645/mt ex-warehouse, while lower levels of around $605-610/mt ex-warehouse continue to be available for serious buyers and prompt purchases. However, these discounted levels have remained insufficient to stimulate sales, with both inquiries and transactions still limited.
Cold rolled sheet prices have also remained stable week on week at $720-750/mt ex-warehouse. Depending on the volume and payment terms, workable levels of around $700-710/mt ex-warehouse are still being heard, although the flexibility shown by sellers has similarly failed to support purchasing activity.
Meanwhile, domestic producers' hot rolled coil offers have been heard this week at around $580-600/mt ex-works, while cold rolled coil quotations stand at approximately $680-700/mt ex-works.
