Hot rolled coil (HRC) producers in Turkey have once again increased their local prices, adding up to the already intense situation in the market. This time, the price increase has been largely driven by the re-rollers, who need to secure their feedstock needs while selling cold rolled and coated steel at sky-high prices and while the HRC allocation in the market is limited.
Local prices for HRC in Turkey have increased from $810-820/mt ex-works yesterday, March 3, in the official offers to $830-850/mt ex-works today depending on the mill and the order size. Two producers are in the market to trade June production and some considerable volumes have already been sold, sources report. One mill, according to market information, has limited available space for June production, taking into account some pending orders from May, when the company also plans to undergo 15-day maintenance works.
Along with scrap prices being firm, the key driver for the higher HRC pricing in the market is the increased demand from the re-rollers’ side. The re-rollers, while able to significantly increase their prices for coated steel and CRC, need to restock with HRC while the availability of the product is limited. CIS-based mills are practically sold out for April production and May shipments, which has caused re-rollers to place sizeable orders with local mills. “HDG prices are high but CRC nowadays is gold. There is literally no material in the market,” a trader told SteelOrbis. “It is crazy. Some re-rollers are already offering for the third quarter today,” another source added.
Currently, CRC local prices in Turkey are at $1,050-1,080/mt ex-works, up by $30/mt since earlier this week. HDG offers in the domestic market have increased by another $10-20/mt over the same period to $1,060-1,100/mt ex-works.
