During the past week, international demand for Turkish welded pipe has slackened, with purchasing activity declining as compared to previous weeks. On the other hand, Turkish steel mills have not reduced their welded pipe export prices in the past week.
Accordingly, Turkish producers’ offer range for ERW pipes and hollow sections with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from hot rolled coil (HRC) of S235 grade as per EN 10219 to their export markets has remained unchanged over the past week at $630-670/mt FOB.
Market sources state that international buyers in Turkish mills’ target markets continue to make price inquiries for welded pipe, though they are in no rush to conclude new deals, and so the number of export transactions from Turkey has fallen. As the sharp depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar has ended in the current week with the Turkish lira regaining some strength, market players' concerns have eased somewhat. However, the uncertainties resulting from ongoing international trade investigations have not been eliminated. Under the current circumstances, market players are maintaining their cautious stance.
On the other hand, expectations of a further fall in hot rolled coil (HRC) and welded pipe prices with the approach of summer are also causing buyers to maintain their wait-and-see stance. Following the reduction seen in the local Turkish welded pipe market last week, market sources state that Turkey’s welded pipe export quotations may also decline in the coming days.