This week, Turkish flat steel spot prices have remained stable week on week, even though the overall market is still weak and under pressure, with no signs of a real recovery. The hot rolled coil (HRC) market has also showed stable prices, though the scrap market is showing some upward movement. According to market sources, the current price stability is not a result of stronger demand. Some traders are offering discounts to serious buyers, but this has not led to any major improvement in activity or sentiment. At the same time, the recent changes to the European Union’s protection measures have added more uncertainty. Many Turkish spot market participants believe that the new rules could negatively impact both domestic demand and export opportunities in the near term.
“Unfortunately, the demand side is very weak. The scrap price increase has had no impact. The new quotas and tax rates announced by Europe are expected to negatively affect the market in the coming period. Even if we lowered prices, we wouldn’t expect any significant activity. So, we have preferred to keep price levels unchanged and will likely close the week this way,” one trader told SteelOrbis
As a result, hot rolled sheet prices this week have remained in the range of $570-590/mt ex-warehouse, in line with last week's levels. Larger traders continue to offer at the upper end of the range, while medium-size and smaller traders are quoting slightly lower prices.
In the cold rolled segment, offers have also remained stable, at $660-705/mt ex-warehouse, unchanged from last week.
