After the very slow trading activity seen toward the end of last year, when many end-users postponed purchases due to year-end budget closures, demand has remained weak at the start of the new year, with no clear signs of a recovery so far. As domestic market conditions have stayed largely unchanged, and with scrap and hot rolled coil (HRC) prices remaining stable, Turkish flat steel spot traders have chosen to keep their offer levels unchanged from the previous week. According to market participants, although price stability has helped prevent further declines, some rumors have circulated in the market suggesting that HRC producers may attempt to raise prices, partly due to the expected impact of CBAM. However, given the ongoing lack of strong demand and the generally sluggish market environment, most players believe that any price increase would be difficult to maintain in the coming weeks.
In the local market, offers for hot rolled sheet (HRS) have continued at $580-600/mt ex-warehouse, with price levels showing no week-on-week movement. Large producers have generally avoided offering discounts, whereas smaller and mid-sized suppliers have been more open to negotiations to close sales. Due to weak buying interest, price reductions of about $5-10/mt have been achievable, mainly for bulk purchases.
Likewise, the cold rolled sheet (CRS) segment has remained steady, with market offers consistently reported at $660-710/mt ex-warehouse, unchanged compared with the previous week.
