FOCUS: Higher HRC prices in Asia draw away Turkish, CIS suppliers from Europe

Exporters of hot-rolled coil in Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States have been redirecting volumes to Asia from their traditional markets such as Europe.

Steel demand and prices in Asia, notably China, started to recover in April after a slump in consumption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This revival happened earlier than in the other regions, where sellers in both Turkey and the CIS traditionally export HRC to.
Domestic HRC prices in the European Union have been declining in the second quarter due to weak demand, with market sources uncertain about whether they would be able to recover.
This led steelmakers from Turkey and the CIS to redirect their HRC to Asia where prices are higher. At the same time, this takes some pressure off the EU market.
A further toughening of safeguard measures and the launch of anti-dumping investigation into Turkish HRC in the EU also contributed to the reduced interest in the region.
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