Notwithstanding the relative stability of the hot rolled coil (HRC) and scrap markets, certain rumors of discounts in the HRC market have been circulating this week. As a result, Turkish flat spot traders, who had foreseen a softening of prices, have decided to lower spot prices, also given unsatisfactory demand.
“We are trying not to lower prices, but conditions in the sector are dire, and weak demand has made it impossible for prices to remain stable,” one trader said, commenting on the current situation.
Meanwhile, according to bigger traders, business activities this week have stayed at the same level as they are selling on ready supplies, even though they have also lowered their pricing since the previous week.
“Our demand this week has not been bad. Customers generally want to purchase ready stock materials, and, since things have been calm for a long time, our stock levels have stabilized, so we can meet most of the incoming demand,” a bigger trader told SteelOrbis.
According to market reports, this week workable domestic hot rolled sheet pricing has decreased by $20/mt to $660-690/mt ex-warehouse. Similarly, in the cold rolled sheet segment, most sellers have reduced their offers from last week by $10-15/mt to $760-795/mt ex-warehouse.
