Buying activity in Turkey's welded pipe market has remained slow as prices have continued to soften in line with poor demand in the country's domestic and export markets and lower quotations of raw materials. Over the past two weeks, Turkish welded pipe prices have declined by $5-10/mt. However, the lower prices have not boosted demand and buyers are reluctant to place orders, especially as the end of the year is approaching. Trade is expected to begin recovering only with the start of 2015, but at a slow pace, with customers expected to return to buy small amounts.
Most offers of Turkish ERW pipes and hollow sections with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from hot rolled coil (HRC) of S235 grade as per EN 10219 are being given to the domestic market at about $600-630/mt ex-works on actual weight basis.
Turkish producers are offering ERW pipes and hollow sections made from HRC of steel grade S235 JRH as per EN 10219 to foreign customers at around $590-610/mt FOB, while quotations of cold rolled pipes of steel grades S235 and S275 are at around $680-710/mt FOB. Water and gas ERW pipes with 20-114 mm diameter and with 2.0-4.5 mm wall thickness made to EN 10255 from S235 grade HR products are being offered for export at about $620-640/mt FOB.