Turkish coated steel price range wides, trend is positive

In the Turkish coated steel market, demand has remained low and prices in the past week have declined by $30/mt on the lower end but have also increased by $10-30/mt on the upper end. The market outlook is now extremely blurry and buyers prefer to wait, but some producers have already sold their April production. This is the main reason for the varied price trends. Producers who have already sold their April production have started to increase their prices for May production since the beginning of this week, but other producers accepted lower firm bids last week. Even $930/mt ex-works for April production HDG was heard in the market last week. The acceptable levels were $930-960/mt for April production HDG last week and many producers have sold their material at these levels. But with the support of lower supply for April production and also higher scrap prices in the market, coated steel prices have started to increase this week and the price trend has changed. "Many producers were worried last week, and buyers have exerted great pressure on prices.  Prices declined but, after the increase in scrap prices, the declines have come to an end. Since the beginning of this week, some producers have started to offer for May production and this improvement has also supported prices. Very low levels such as $930/mt ex-works are not in the market any more," a producer told SteelOrbis.

Levels as low as $930/mt FOB have been heard in the HDG export market, but the low levels are not acceptable to sellers this week. Demand is still low and most buyers prefer to wait until the Chinese holiday ends before they decide to buy.