Turkish flat steel producers' export offers have failed to gain acceptance among European buyers, despite the appreciation of the euro against the US dollar. While more competitive flat steel import offers are available in the European market, from China for example, domestic flat steel prices in the European market are also lower than Turkish offers. Currently, Turkish steelmakers' hot rolled coil (HRC) export offers stand at $650-670/mt FOB.
In the meantime, flat steel offers given to the Turkish market are trending downward. Russian steel producer Severstal has cut its November production HRC offers to Turkey to $655/mt CFR FO Diliskelesi port, from $730/mt CFR in early October, while Ukrainian HRC offers to Turkey are now standing at $610-620/mt CFR, down from $680/mt CFR last month. Some market players state that, since these offer prices exceed Turkish domestic prices when import duty is taken into account, they have yet to find acceptance.