Flats business activity has remained at very low levels in Turkey due to several factors. The mood of buyers has generally been impacted by economic and political uncertainties in the country, negative expectations for exchange rates and the generally low end-user demand, including from key consuming industries. In addition, the hot rolled coil prices in the local and import markets in Turkey have moved down considerably in the past couple of weeks, again due to low demand and aggressive Chinese offers. The pessimistic sentiment in the import scrap segment has also been contributing to the overall negative situation.
As a result, this week most of the re-rollers have kept their official offers for coated and cold rolled (CR) steel stable, but in reality most of them seem to be ready for $20-30/mt discounts in negotiations. “Nobody wants to declare their official price decrease because they [re-rollers] want to ship their previous orders and to collect their money,” a source told SteelOrbis.
As a result, the domestic 0.5 mm Z100 galvanized coil prices are at $1,020-1,070/mt ex-works, but it is believed $1,000-1,050/mt ex-works levels are achievable. The pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) prices are at $1,240-1,260/mt ex-works from most of the re-rollers, while one of them is offering closer to $1,200/mt ex-works levels. In the CRC segment, the general level of offers is at $940-970/mt ex-works, but some of the suppliers, according to sources, are negotiating at $915-920/mt ex-works.
“In a normal world, we would be fully booked until late August by now, and we would be waiting to see the right price for the next round. [For now,] we couldn’t sell May and June yet. This situation is a disaster,” a producer said. Another concern is the currency issue in the country, since the rates are expected to fall further. According to some sources, a lot of sellers in the local market are dealing only for advance payment since the exchange rates after the elections cannot be predicted.