Will increased flat steel prices in Turkey find demand?

Flat steel prices in the Turkish domestic market have increased this week, while no significant improvement has been in observed in demand.
 
Early this week, integrated steelmaker Erdemir raised its hot rolled coil (HRC) prices by $20/mt to $650/mt ex-works, while other flat steel producers, including MMK Metalurji and Colakoglu Metalurji have increased their HRC prices to $640-650/mt ex-works. In the meantime, local producers' cold rolled coil (CRC) prices are standing at $770-780/mt ex-works.
 
Market players view these price increases as a testing of the market by producers, and it is yet to be seen if there will be demand for the new price levels, which are $20-30/mt higher than last week. The transaction volume is not expected to show an improvement in the short-term since buyers have already booked HRC in previous weeks at a price level as low as $610-630/mt, and also due to factors such as the approach of the end of the year, the unwillingness of traders to increase their inventories, the strengthening of the US dollar against the Turkish lira and given that no such increase has been seen in import offers yet.
 
By the second half of January, demand is foreseen to revive and transaction activity is predicted to accelerate in the Turkish flat steel market, while prices are expected to gradually increase throughout January.