This week’s price increase in the Turkish pipe market was influenced by the continuing strength of the hot roll coil (HRC) market. While the bigger traders have maintained prices at lower levels to encourage business activity, some smaller traders who did not want to suffer losses due to the continuous economic and financial problems, kept prices higher and, as a result, the price range this week has widened.
Currently, the workable domestic pricing for hollow sections stands at $750-850/mt ex-warehouse, up from $730-750/mt ex-warehouse in previous weeks.
“Demand is slightly greater, but buyers are already accustomed to price fluctuations, and so they wait to see how the situation develops. Aside from that, projects are rare, and so buyers purchase only what is essential rather than large quantities,” one pipe producer told SteelOrbis.
Likewise, the export market has also increased by $30/mt from previous weeks to $760-830/mt FOB.