The welded pipe business in Turkey has for a while been under pressure from a number of negative factors, which have been pushing prices downwards. One reason is the scarce number of inquiries for exports, while in the meantime trade in the local market has been severely hit by currency fluctuations. In addition, the moods in the hot-rolled coil market have been mainly negative.
As a result, over the past couple of weeks both export and local hollow sections prices from Turkey have seen a drop of around $20-30/mt. In the local market, prices are nowadays reported in a rather wide range of $890-930/mt ex-works on actual weight basis for January-February deliveries and offers are depending on the supplier. “Since the lira has been falling this much, lately we have been unable to fix the rate and have started offering on US dollar basis but customers are exerting pressure for even lower levels as they are also seeking to secure themselves against risks,” a pipe-maker told SteelOrbis.
On the export side, the offer range is at around $890-940/mt FOB, again on actual weight basis, for end of January-February shipments. The interest of the European customers in Turkish hollow sections is reportedly low, mainly as they first want to see some clarification of the quota issue. “Sure there are some volumes sitting there at the border and waiting for customs clearance. After this is done, we will see what is left from the new quota volume,” another source said. Overall, once the quota situation is clear, demand is expected to be there from the EU, but then again the market is approaching a rather long period of holidays, when business usually gets slower.