Business activity in the flat steel spot market in Turkey has failed to improve due unfavorable financial conditions and the overall pessimistic mood in the market. While mills prefer to keep their HRC prices high, traders have decided to provide some discounts for sheets in order to spur sales. In the cold rolled segment, the traders’ prices have remained stable for now, partly due to the limited amount of offers from local re-rollers.
By the middle of the week, the workable domestic pricing for hot rolled sheets has decreased by $10-20/mt to $720-750/mt ex-warehouse. Some of the larger traders, however, are still attempting to sell at $770/mt ex-warehouse, which is not considered workable by a wide range of buyers. Conversely, domestic cold rolled sheet prices have remained the same as last week at $810-850/mt ex-warehouse.
“The market is sluggish, Turkey's economy is not good, and demand is minimal since buyers will not buy until there is a pressing need.” a trader told SteelOrbis.
