Turkish steel plate market mostly stable

Demand has still failed to recover in the Turkish steel plate market and prices have remained largely stable, while only some import offers have increased, with local prices remaining unchanged. Despite the low demand, market participants believe prices will increase soon because of strong raw material prices. "Production costs are increasing also for plate and, with or without demand, we believe prices will increase. We are optimistic about the market outlook. We believe buyers could start buying at any moment because they also do not want to buy at higher price levels. We expect not only higher prices but also better demand in the upcoming period," a trader told SteelOrbis.

In the meantime, prices from local producer Erdemir have been heard in the market at $780-800/mt ex-works for S235JR quality and at $820-840/mt ex-works for S355 JR quality plates for May production, unchanged since last week.

On the import side, Bulgaria’s Stomana Industry S.A has sold out its April production and now is offering $820-830/mt CFR for S235JR grade and $860-870/mt CFR for S355JR grade, increasing by $20/mt for May production. Romania is in the market offering at $815-820/mt CFR, unchanged over the past week, and still has limited tonnage for April production, but the Romanian supplier is also targeting higher levels for its May production. Metinvest is still not in the market, while market participants expect to hear its new prices in the coming days for May production. South Korean offers were heard in the market last week at $850-860/mt CFR for S355JR grade for April shipment, increasing by $10/mt since last 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.