The ongoing strength of coated steel export sales from Turkey has continued to support price increases in the local Turkish market. Turkish producers have been increasing their offers almost on a daily basis, following their sales to the local and export markets and in accordance with their order books and the availability of material.
The highest voiced domestic offers for HDG and PPGI have hit $1,380/mt and $1,420/mt ex-works, respectively, for September production. However, as regards HDG, the sources report that the workable levels are more or less at $1,300-1,350/mt ex-works, while some allocation for August production is still available. Over the past week, local HDG prices have increased by $30-40/mt, while rising by $95/mt on average over the past month.
For export destinations prices have also increased, more sharply than local prices due to the strong demand coming from the target markets. Foreign buyers, mainly European, are ready to buy for September and even October production, taking into account the limited allocation and high prices in their own domestic market. In the meantime, local Turkish buyers are not yet ready to speed up restocking for September. On the other hand, export demand is not expected to slow down and producers are ready to announce new price increases, which will surely affect the price situation in the local market also.
"It is very normal to see higher prices in this market situation. Hot rolled coil prices are still on an uptrend … and demand is strong. Producers have already started to sell for September production in April,” a producer told SteelOrbis. “Spot stocks are low and we have just started to have better weather conditions. Spring is traditionally a high season for coated steel products,” he added. In the meantime, the financial situation in Turkey is far from positive since the exchange rate keeps fluctuating and credit limits have been tightened, which has led to lower volumes of purchases by some end-users in the country. “But we also have to buy raw material and we are buying it at higher prices every month. Without a price increase, no one can afford their production costs in the coated steel market," a source said.
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Turkish domestic prices (ex-works) |
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Product |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
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HDG 0.50 mm 100gr/m² |
1,300-1,380 |
+40/+30 |
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HDG 1 mm 100gr/m² |
1,280-1,300 |
+40 |
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HDG 2 mm 100gr/m² |
1,230-1,270 |
+40 |
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PPGI RAL 9002 0.3 mm 100 gr/m² |
1,560-1,580 |
+30 |
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PPGI RAL 9002 0.5 mm 100 gr/m² |
1,400-1,420 |
+50/+20 |
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PPGI RAL 9002 1 mm 100 gr/m² |
1,350-1,400 |
+30 |
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Turkish export quotations (FOB) |
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Product |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
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HDG 0.50 mm 100gr/m² |
1,320-1,340 |
+40 |
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PPGI RAL 9002 0.5 mm 100 gr/m² |
1,400-1,430 |
+50 |