Given the recent increase in the Turkish hot rolled coil (HRC) market as a result of the surge in Chinese HRC prices, Turkish pipe producers have decided to increase their prices to keep up with the trend. Trade has been lively over the past week after the unexpected price increases, though, according to market players, the coming weeks will be critical in determining the market outlook, as negative factors such as economic challenges continue to exert pressure on the Turkish pipe market.
“One of the main pipe producers has begun maintenance for a time, so they are not currently supplying, and demand, particularly in the local market, increased this week as regional tensions worsened. However, as a country, we are dealing with certain financial challenges that are affecting the demand segment significantly,” a market source told SteelOrbis.
Current offers in the local hollow section market in Turkey are at around $680-700/mt ex-works, up about $50/mt from the previous week.
On the other hand, hollow section prices in the export market are at $690-710/mt FOB, up from around $640-650/mt at the end of last week.