Regardless of the weak end-user demand and Turkey’s economic difficulties that are still the main negative factors impacting the market, Turkish flat steel traders have chosen to keep prices stable week on week. Furthermore, according to bigger traders, present business activities are continuing albeit at low levels. Despite this situation, they anticipate that prices will stay at the current levels since the hot rolled coil (HRC) and scrap segments are expected to remain stable.
“Even though business activity may be at a low point, prices have been at these levels for a while, and I do not believe they will decline much further from these levels. Only a few traders who need money are attempting to sell at low prices of $670-680/mt ex-warehouse, but, from what we have heard, the sales volumes are small,” one of the bigger traders stated when commenting on the current situation.
In consequence, workable domestic hot rolled sheet prices have remained stable week on week at around $700-720/mt ex-warehouse, while, as previously mentioned, some traders are seeking to attract buyers by providing pricing lower than the market levels, at around $670-680/mt ex-warehouse.
In the cold rolled sheet market, however, the majority of sellers are offering at approximately $790-820/mt ex-warehouse, which is the same as the previous week. According to sources, a few small traders are looking for ways to increase their sales by offering at roughly $740-770/mt ex-warehouse.