During the past week, 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 domestic market has moved up by an average of $40/mt to $620-650/mt ex-works.
Domestic HRC prices in Turkey have increased amid the acceleration seen in Turkey’s HRC exports and the ongoing rises in export prices. In parallel with higher production costs, welded pipe producers have raised their domestic prices, as expected since last week. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that import scrap prices have decreased to $307/mt CFR as Turkish mills have significantly slowed down their bookings, following the previous increase to $330/mt CFR when Turkish mills had accelerated their purchases. The rising movement of finished steel prices is expected to end in the coming period due to this sharp fall in import scrap quotations in Turkey.
No significant price rise in the local Turkish welded pipe market is predicted for the coming weeks as the anticipated price increase is believed to have already been reflected in domestically produced welded pipe quotations. According to market sources, buyers’ demand for domestic welded pipe has failed to indicate any significant improvement over the past week, while the recovery in the local Turkish welded pipe market is judged to be smaller than the recovery of Turkey’s welded pipe exports. Additionally, domestic welded pipe prices in Turkey are not expected to move up sharply in the short term due to the ongoing lack of confidence in the Turkish economy.