In the local Turkish welded pipe market, demand has recovered slightly over the past week and prices have increased. Buyers have started to replenish their stocks and prices have increased gradually during the week. Demand has not recovered fully because buyers have still been cautious because of the weakness of the Turkish lira and their credit limits. On the other hand, the increasing trend of hot rolled coil prices in the country has continued to support pipe prices. Turkish welded pipe prices have increased by $50/mt since last week to $930-950/mt ex-works, for May and June production. Big producers are offering mainly for June in Turkey, but it is still possible to find allocations also for May, mainly from medium-sized producers.
"Buyers are cautious, and so are we. We do not increase our prices sharply because the financial outlook is unclear in the country. Instead of sharp increases, we have increased our prices after demand emerged. We continue to follow this policy, but of course we have to increase our prices because our raw material costs are increasing everyday," a producer told SteelOrbis.
On the export side, prices have also increased by $50/mt to $920-940/mt FOB and demand has remained good. Foreign buyers quickly started their price inquiries after the Easter holiday and demand is expected to recover further with the better weather conditions, but of course the EU quotas continue to limit demand.
** 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.