Last week, Turkish integrated steelmaker Erdemir had increased its domestic offers for cold rolled and galvanized flat steel products. This week, the producer has also lifted its hot rolled sheet prices by $10/mt. Following the stronger activity in the Turkish flat steel market and the increased prices, it seems the market will also maintain these levels after the holiday.
Erdemir has pushed up its domestic asking price for hot rolled flat steel products to the base price level of $630-640/mt, while it still maintains last week's increased price levels for cold rolled and galvanized flat steel products. Erdemir's offers for cold rolled products to the local market are now standing at the base price level of $750-760/mt. Meanwhile, another Turkish steelmaker Colakoğlu is offering hot rolled flat steel products to the domestic market at $640/mt.
In Turkey's spot steel market, prices continue to vary depending on the region. In Turkey's Eregli region, prices of hot rolled flat steel products with 2 mm thickness stand at $640-650/mt, while in the Gebze region the prices can drop to $620/mt due to the availability of imported material and the presence of several producers in the region. Meanwhile, general price levels for 0.9-2 mm cold rolled flat steel products are standing at $760-800/mt. However, producers' recent price increases have not yet exerted any influence on spot market prices. Among the reasons for this situation, market players say that supply availability in inventories can vary depending on the product.
As regards import offers given to Turkey, price levels are yet to be shaped. This week, Russian steelmaker Severstal announced its HRC offers at $550-590/mt FOB St. Petersburg and Rostov port. Meanwhile, the steelmaker has stated that it will focus on the Russian domestic market as regards cold rolled coil, plate and galvanized products. However, Severstal also said that it would consider bids, which stand above $710/mt FOB for cold rolled products, $625/mt FOB for plates and $825/mt FOB for galvanized products.
Last month, ex-Ukraine HRC offers to Turkey were at $580-605/mt CFR, while Russian HRC offers to Turkey were at $620-660/mt CFR. While price levels for December production are yet to be announced, Turkish buyers are expected to prefer domestic origin material instead of imports.