Another price decrease has been seen in the Turkish flat steel spot market over the past week, taking into account low demand and the unstable situation regarding mills’ flat steel pricing. Stock levels of traders have also remained low and even scarce for some qualities.
The market outlook is hardly positive and some retail companies have already started accepting firm bids below their offer levels. Due to the unstable economic conditions, currency fluctuations and slower export demand, many traders believe flat steel producers may not be able to avoid giving sizeable discounts.
"A lot of people have started to believe they will soon have the opportunity to restock at lower prices. That is why they are open to accepting firm bids, while demand has also been very low for a long time. They want to revive demand with lower prices but in this situation it seems impossible. Buyers are cautious and they know that when export demand is low they can get better prices. Instead of restocking in this period, buyers want to wait and see a clearer outlook," a trader told SteelOrbis.
In the past week, prices have declined by $20/mt for HR pickled materials and by $70-100/mt for CRC, and are unchanged for HRC materials.
Product |
Price ($/mt) |
|
Ereğli |
Gebze |
|
2-12 mm HRC |
1,110-1,140 |
1,130-1,150 |
1.5 mm HRS |
1,160-1,180 |
1,180-1,190 |
3-12 mm HR P&O |
1,180-1,200 |
1,190-1,220 |
0.6 mm CRC |
1,430-1,440 |
1,430-1,450 |
0.7-2 mm CRC |
1,380-1,400 |
1,390-1,420 |