Over the past week, buyers in the local Turkish welded pipe market have made bookings only to meet their immediate needs even if their inventories are empty. Accordingly, demand in the market has slightly improved but it is still on the low side. Meanwhile, amid the uptrend of prices of hot rolled coil (HRC) - which is used as feedstock in steel pipe production - and since the increased prices of steel products have gained acceptance in the Turkish market, Turkish producers have increased their welded pipe prices by $30/mt on average week on week, while they are still offering discounts depending on buyers and tonnages.
Over the past week, 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 to the domestic market have started to range at $570-600/mt ex-works on actual weight basis, increasing by $30/mt on average.
Even though buyers in export markets consider Turkish welded pipe prices to be on the high side, Turkish producers’ offers for ERW pipes and hollow sections made from HRC of steel grade S235 JRH as per EN 10219 to foreign customers have increased by $35/mt week on week to $540-560/mt FOB on theoretical weight basis, in line with the increase in Chinese welded pipe quotations and due to the expectations that global steel prices will increase further.