While attempts to raise HRC prices by Turkish mills were observed earlier in the week, Turkish flat steel spot traders have decided to keep their prices stable week on week amid continuing poor demand and financial difficulties. Due to the poor outlook, most traders are just focused on keeping their businesses operating profitably rather than on raising prices.
“The current position in the spot market is completely opposed to producers' efforts to raise prices since the expected demand did not materialize after the vacation, sales are quite low, and we are even resisting a decline. Despite our resistance, the market is experiencing lower prices because the main issue is that some traders purchase materials but lack the funds to pay. As a result, they offer lower prices and facilitate financing, which harms the market's pricing,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
According to reports, workable domestic hot rolled sheet prices are unchanged at around $610-620/mt ex-warehouse. Medium-sized and smaller traders are offering at around $610-615/mt ex-warehouse, while larger traders offer at around $620/mt ex-warehouse.
A similar tendency can be observed in the cold rolled sheet (CRS) market. The majority of traders are quoting at $720-745/mt ex-warehouse, the same range as last week.
Meanwhile, Turkey's official HRC and CRC prices in the domestic market stand at $590-610/mt ex-works and $690-720/mt ex-works, respectively.