Since last week, scrap prices have been rising, which has caused Turkish producers’ pricing in the hot roll coil (HRC) segment to rise as well. Because of the market's upbeat mood, flat steel traders have once more pushed prices higher this week. However, according to many market players, the increase in flats demand is not directly proportional to the prices of flats, so it is doubtful how long this increase will be sustainable.
Workable domestic hot rolled sheet (HRS) prices are currently at $700-730/mt ex-warehouse, a $20/mt increase from last Friday. However, the smaller traders and re-rollers are heard to be selling aggressively at $760/mt ex-warehouse, which is not feasible in the present conditions.
“HRC mills’ pricing has risen in response to the increase in scrap prices. Even if there has been a modest increase in demand for flats, the long-term viability is doubtful, but in the short term I can say yes, though demand is still low,” a retailer said to SteelOrbis.
Similarly, most traders in the cold rolled sheet (CRS) market are offering at $790-810/mt ex-warehouse, compared to $790-800/mt ex-warehouse last week.
