The Turkish welded pipe market was expected to see some recovery in September, but players still report insufficient demand from both local and foreign customers.
Meanwhile, domestic and export offers of welded pipes from Turkish producers have declined by a maximum of $10/mt over the past two weeks. Buying activity in the domestic market is not expected to improve in the near term due to financing problems and rising liquidity shortages in the country. On the other hand, foreign buyers prefer to wait for further developments in the market and are delaying purchases, expecting further price cuts on the forecast decline in flat steel quotations in Turkey.
Most offers of Turkish ERW pipes and hollow sections with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from hot rolled coil (HRC) of S235JR grade as per EN 10219 are being given to the domestic market at about $670-690/mt ex-works, while ERW pipes of 1.5 mm wall thickness made from cold rolled coil (CRC) are in the range of $760-790/mt ex-works. Water and gas ERW pipes of 2.0-4.5 mm wall thickness made to EN 10255/DIN 2440 from S235 grade HR products are being offered in the domestic market at $710-720/mt ex-works.
Turkish producers are offering ERW pipes and hollow sections made from HRC of steel grade S235 JRH as per EN 10219 to foreign customers at around $670-690/mt FOB. Water and gas ERW pipes with 20-114 mm diameter and with 2.0-4.5 mm wall thickness made to EN 10255 from S235 grade HR products are being offered for export at about $700-720/mt FOB.