Over the past week, demand for Turkish welded pipe in export markets has been at decent levels, while Turkish exporters’ welded pipe sales to Europe have increased slightly. Following the European Commission’s decision to impose provisional safeguard measures on imported steel in the form of an out-of-quota tariff, European buyers' demand for welded pipes is now stronger than usual as they think that quotas will be exhausted in September or October. Accordingly, Turkish mills’ welded pipe exports to Europe have accelerated. Meanwhile, countries which had not been importing welded pipe from Turkey for a long time, such as Romania, have again begun to import welded pipe from Turkey, ordering large volumes of welded pipe for September shipments.
Although their export sales have gained momentum, Turkish exporters have not revised their quotations since European buyers, whose demand recently has been liveliest compared to other market players, will likely resist any possible upticks in prices. As a result, 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 are still at $650-700/mt FOB.
Amid their increased demand for raw materials with the aim of accelerating their exports, Turkish welded pipe producers have started to find it difficult to source sufficient raw material supplies from their domestic market. Market sources state that Turkey’s welded pipe exports may be negatively impacted by this situation if it continues.