Following the price hikes mainly seen in the import segment previously, plate prices in Turkey have stabilized this week. The demand has remained moderate and mainly local material is being traded, while the price uptrend seems to have come to an end for now, following the slowdown in the movement of scrap prices and the end of the price rises for hot rolled coil (HRC).
The domestic plate offers for February production have been maintained at $800-830/mt ex-works depending on the grade, while retail prices have remained at $940-950/mt for S355JR and at $900-910/mt for S235JR, both on ex-warehouse basis.
Import offers from Europe are still the highest with Bulgaria indicating $900/mt CFR for February shipments and Romania offering at $880-890/mt CFR for the same lead times. South Korea is offering for February-March shipments at $765-770/mt CFR, while Chinese offers have mainly been reported at $680-690/mt CFR for the higher shipbuilding grades. Macedonia has also remained stable at €850/mt CFR for February shipments.