This week has been slow in terms of flats in Turkey, specifically in the hot-rolled coil segment. The domestic demand remains insufficient due to financial issues and buyers’ mainly pessimistic expectations. In addition, exports are still slow due to the absence of European buyers.
As a result, since there has not been much movement, Turkey’s domestic HRC prices have remained at the levels they rolled back to earlier this week, at $630-650/mt ex-works depending on the seller. Higher offers are also being voiced in the market, but they are not considered workable due to the negative market. As regards exports, the official offers are at $620-640/mt FOB, but buyers mainly believe levels $20-30/mt lower might be applicable. In the retail segment, traders have been offering hot-rolled sheets at $660-700/mt ex-warehouse, while last week the level was at $670-715/mt ex-warehouse.
The situation in the coated steel and cold-rolled coil market has not yet improved in Turkey and the prices for some products have weakened further, taking into account that some producers have been aiming to destock. This week’s HDG domestic offers have been set at $750-780/mt ex-works, down by around $30-40/mt over the past week. “The situation in HDG is the worst since there is a lot of material available,” a re-roller said. Turkey’s PPGI domestic prices are at $850-880/mt ex-works and up to $900/mt ex-works from the producers, who are currently not willing to trade. In the meantime, some buyers have reported $820-830/mt ex-works levels are also achievable. Turkey’s CRC prices are at $720-750/mt ex-works, slightly below the levels of last week. Local retail prices for cold-rolled sheet are at $780-800/mt ex-warehouse minimum, SteelOrbis has learned.
