Turkish flat steel spot prices have shown an upward movement this week, supported by a positive outlook in the scrap segment and recent price increase attempts by domestic HRC producers. Spot traders have accordingly revised their offers upward. However, despite this upward adjustment, market participants note that the main drivers behind the mills’ increase attempts are high scrap costs, improved export sales and the absence of aggressively priced HRC imports, rather than a genuine improvement in domestic demand. According to market sources, although similar increases were reflected in the spot market and some buying interest was observed at the beginning of the week, activity has slowed toward the end of the week, with limited business continuing to be reported. In this context, most traders remain skeptical about the sustainability of higher price levels, given ongoing financial constraints and the approaching Ramadan period, which is expected to further dampen market activity.
“There have been attempts to increase prices, and we did see some interest from customers earlier this week. However, actual buying remains limited and demand is still weak. With Ramadan approaching, the market is likely to slow further, so it is difficult to see higher price levels being sustained,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
As a result, hot rolled sheet (HRS) prices have increased to $590-625/mt ex-warehouse, compared with $580-600/mt ex-warehouse last week. Similar trends have been observed in the cold rolled sheet (CRS) market, where offer levels have risen to $675-725/mt ex-warehouse, up from $660-710/mt ex-warehouse previously.
Despite the officially higher offer levels, discounts of around $10-20/mt are still reported to be available from some traders for serious buyers, particularly for larger volumes, amid persistently weak demand and the upcoming Ramadan period.
