Turkish flat products mills try to raise prices

Turkish hot and cold rolled steel makers are trying to raise plate prices as product availability decreases due to current and future scheduled equipment maintenance.

HRC's domestic bids are in the $ 490-500 range per exw tonne, but lower levels for larger tonnes and other favorable terms of purchase, including longer lead times, are not excluded, the sources said.

Demand remains low, but is roughly better than December, at least in terms of demand. This is despite continued pressure from a perceived lack of demand, which many participants expect to improve after the global market picks up steam following the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. However, as others argue, these are more sentimental than fundamental factors pointing to the breakdown of most geographic and seasonal patterns of international trade over the past couple of years.

Turkish factories continue to rely on export markets, where their offers range from $ 480-500 /ton depending on the plant. Sources suggest that some of Turkey's buying markets are saturated with materials. In southern Europe, a 2mm thick Turkish HRC S235JR is being offered at € 450 /ton CFR and it hasn't been able to pick up steam, according to traders. But Turkish factories still have some monthly orders that they will continue to fulfill and that will hold them back from month to month, traders remind.

HRC's import offers fluctuate in the range of USD 470–480 per tonne, but given the fact that at the beginning of the month the CIS producer's sales volume was USD 455 per tonne, this price range does not attract buyers. The Russian producer sold at $ 455-465 per tonne to produce hot rolled ore of various sizes to its subsidiary in the south of the country, the source said.