Turkish steel plate prices start to increase

Steel plate spot prices have increased by $20/mt in Turkey since last week, but demand has remained subdued. Without new projects which would increase plate consumption, a real increase in demand hardly seems possible, sources stated. In the absence of demand, steel plate prices only follow raw material and hot rolled coil prices. "We have higher HRC and raw material prices, while the local producer has also increased its plate prices. That is the reason for the higher steel plate prices. On the other hand, stocks are sufficient in the spot market and we do not have big demand, as always. Of course, buyers bought a little bit more last week before plate prices have increased, but we cannot talk about a real demand recovery without any new projects," 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, increased by $20-30/mt over the month.

On the import side, Bulgaria’s Stomana Industry S.A is offering $800-810/mt CFR for S235JR grade and $840-850/mt CFR for S355JR grade, unchanged over the past week. Romania is in the market offering at $815-820/mt CFR, unchanged over the past week. Both companies are expected to increase their prices for May production after they sell out their limited April offers. Metinvest is not in the market anymore, while market participants expect to hear its new prices next week for May production. South Korean offers were heard in the market last week at $840-850/mt CFR for S355JR grade for April shipment.

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, increasing by €40/mt over the mentioned period, SteelOrbis has learned.