Turkish steel plate market follows an upward trend

Plate prices in Turkey have indicated an increase over the past week even though local demand has remained subdued. Spot prices have risen by $30/mt due to higher local mills’ offers and increased import offers. "We have insufficient demand as always, but we see higher producers’ prices and also the uptrend in other flats segments. Our stock costs are increasing day by day and we should reflect these costs in our sales prices," a trader told SteelOrbis.

In the meantime, prices from local producer Erdemir have been heard in the market at $800-820/mt ex-works for S235JR quality and at $840-860/mt ex-works for S355 JR quality plates for May production, increasing by $20/mt since last week.

On the import side, Bulgaria’s Stomana Industry S.A offers $840-850/mt CFR for S235JR grade and $880-890/mt CFR for S355JR grade, up by $20/mt. Romania is not in the market but it is expected to announce May production prices soon, the price idea is $825-830/mt CFR minimum, $10/mt higher than April production prices. Offers from Metinvest have been heard in the market at $790-800/mt CFR for May production. South Korean offers are still in the market at $850-860/mt CFR for S355JR grade for April shipment, unchanged over the past week.

In the shipbuilding plate segment, Macedonia-based Makstil is offering €680/mt CFR for S235JR quality and at €710/mt CFR for S355JR quality, for April deliveries, unchanged during the period in question, SteelOrbis has learned.