Responding to the ongoing downturn in the hot rolled coil (HRC) market, Turkish flat steel traders have also reduced their pricing during the past week. Although traders are reporting price declines nearly every week, there has been no noticeable change in business activity which remains extremely low. Besides, the ongoing challenges in the Turkish economy exert financial pressure on consumers to make purchasing decisions, but the same situation can also be witnessed on the sellers' side.
“The market prices are volatile. Most traders purchase what sells and try to lower stock levels. Apart from the persistent lack of demand, the high interest rates contribute to ongoing high financial costs,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
As a result, domestic hot rolled sheet (HRS) prices have dropped by $10-15/mt over the past week to $610-620/mt ex-warehouse. Currently, Turkey’s official HRC prices in the domestic market are at $580-590/mt ex-works.
A similar trend can be observed in the cold rolled sheet (CRS) market. The majority of traders have cut their prices by $10/mt over the past week to $750-780/mt ex-warehouse. However, a few traders have offered much lower prices at around $740/mt ex-warehouse.