Over the past week, prices in the local Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) market have continued their downward movement, decreasing by $30/mt to $620-650/mt ex-works. Although the declines seen in domestic HRC prices are expected to reduce Turkish welded pipe producers’ production costs, some producers, who had made HRC bookings before prices moved downwards, are expected to continue to face cost pressure until they consume their higher-priced HRC inventories.
Meanwhile, demand for domestic welded pipe in Turkey, which has been slack for a while, has not recorded any significant recovery in the past week and, with the announcement of the early election in the country, Turkish buyers are expected to maintain their wait-and-see stance and to conclude deals only to meet their immediate needs. In particular, Turkish buyers will likely monitor the global markets as well as the fluctuations of the Turkish lira against the US dollar and the euro.
Under these market conditions, 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 domestic market has decreased by $20/mt over the past week to $660-700/mt ex-works.
As for Turkish welded pipe exports, Turkish producers have increased their export sales within the scope of the Wire & Tube Fair in Düsseldorf and the volume of their price offers has also increased. Turkish producers’ export prices for ERW pipes and hollow sections with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from HRC of S235 grade as per EN 10219, which had moved downwards in the previous week, have remained stable during the past week at $700-720/mt FOB.
Having halted for a while amid geopolitical risks, new bookings of Turkish welded pipe have started in the export markets and consequently the pessimistic sentiment resulting from the European Commission’s safeguard duty investigation has diminished somewhat. According to market sources, European steel mills are also opposed to the investigation and will likely face difficulties in the event of a lack of steel imports.