Demand for welded pipe in Turkey has continued to recover since last week and prices have increased. Turkish producers have started to offer for May production, but some of them have a limited allocation for April too. The outlook is also positive and the new price increases will very likely help, because demand for export is also good and is expected to increase further. Many producers believe they will sell their May production in the current month because Covid-19 measures started to ease in target markets and traditionally pipe exports improve in the spring. "We expect better market conditions because raw material prices are strong and demand is good in both the local and export markets. Buyers have waited a long time before accepting the price increases and now they have decided to buy to meet their needs because they believe prices are on an uptrend and that new increases are on the way," a producer told SteelOrbis.
Prices in the Turkish welded pipe market have increased by $10/mt on the lower end and $20/mt on the upper end to $820-860/mt ex-works for the local market and to $810-840/mt FOB for export destinations.
** Prices are given for ERW pipes and hollow sections with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from HRC of S235 grade as per EN 10219, on theoretical weight basis.