Early this week, inquiries and deals concluded in the local Turkish welded pipe market accelerated in line with the fluctuation seen in currency rates, while this lively activity on the part of both traders and producers has been replaced by sluggishness in the last days of the week. 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 remained stable as compared to the previous week at $630-680/mt ex-works.
This week, the price declines in the local Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) market have accelerated, with prices decreasing to $590-605/mt ex-works. During the previous week, some Turkish welded pipe producers had reduced their prices in line with the declines observed in domestic HRC prices resulting from currency fluctuations and having decreased their inventories, market players had concluded some bookings as producers offered significant discounts. However, since welded pipe producers’ pricing strategy depends on domestic HRC prices, Turkish welded pipe buyers will likely continue to maintain a wait-and-see stance and to be in no rush to make new bookings, in order to see how far domestic HRC prices will decline and to what extent welded pipe producers will cut their prices accordingly.