Turkey’s welded pipe producers have left their prices stable, taking into account that demand in both the local and export markets is sufficient for now. Most local offers are for December deliveries. Additional support is coming from climbing scrap price levels and the absence of sizable discounts in the hot rolled coil (HRC) market. “Now we are seeing better scrap prices and Turkish HRC producers have almost closed sales of this year's production. These are really positive signals for our market but we are receiving the real support from export destinations," a producer told SteelOrbis. However, both sellers and buyers are cautious due to currency fluctuations. “Buyers are very careful and they have now lower purchasing power. If we ask for higher prices, demand can decline dramatically. But of course we have to follow HRC prices as always to continue our production," another producer said.
Local welded pipe prices in Turkey have remained at $570-590/mt ex-works, while the export prices are still at 550-570/mt FOB. Exporters are happy about the demand - mainly from the EU - and some companies have started to offer for January production.
** 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.