Over the past week, ex-Turkey welded pipe prices have increased in line with the upward movement of steel prices in the global market. In this context, 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 the export markets has increased by $30/mt on the lower end and by $50/mt on the upper end to $600-630/mt FOB. Due to their concerns that welded pipe prices may increase further in the coming days, buyers have accelerated their ex-Turkey welded pipe bookings and accepted Turkish suppliers’ offer prices more readily.
Although the European Commission has announced its final decision to impose quotas on imported steel as of February 2, Turkish welded pipe exporters are finding it difficult to gain a clear outlook in terms of sales to the region since it is still not possible to check the volumes of imported steel to the region and the size of the unused quotas. As they are still receiving orders from Europe, Turkish welded pipe suppliers state that they are taking a risk and loading the orders on to ships although they do not know how much of the quota remains unused and whether they will face 25 percent additional duty.