Turkish flat steel market trends sideways, demand remains sluggish

The Turkish flat steel market is coming to the end of another month of sluggish demand, while flat steel import offer prices have continued to increase. Even though the last week of February has nearly ended, manufacturers are still not showing much interest in domestic flat steel offers. In November and December last year, the Turkish flat steel market was livelier and registered increased prices. However, in January and February this year, the market has slowed down, in line with the reduced purchases of manufacturers. Nevertheless, the softening trend of prices has switched to a sideways trend in recent weeks.
 
After a quiet February, market players in the Turkish flat steel market are now waiting to see the price trend in March. Although flat steel producers and suppliers are facing difficulties in pushing up their prices now, the general market expectation is that prices will start to rise by the third quarter of this year. However, it should be noted that demand is still the key factor which dictates domestic flat steel prices.
 
Turkish flat steel producers Erdemir and Çolakoğlu Metalürji have maintained their domestic offers at their previous levels. Thus, the Turkish integrated steelmaker Erdemir's HRC offers stand at the base price level of $850/mt ex-works, while its 1-1.5 mm CRC offers are at $960-970/mt ex-works. In the meantime, Çolakoğlu Metalürji has maintained its HRC base price at $830/mt ex-works.
 
In the past week, spot flat steel prices have not shown any significant changes. In this week's Turkish domestic spot market, 2-3 mm HRC offers have been at $780-800/mt, while 1-1.5 mm CRC offers have been at $920-940/mt, both ex-warehouse.