TURKEY FLAT STEEL: China holiday, rising scrap costs put buyers in cautious mood

Buyers of flat steel in Turkey held back from making purchases this week, largely because of uncertainty over the direction of prices caused by rising scrap values while China is away for its New Year holiday, sources told Fastmarkets.

Demand was only moderate during the week because stock levels were high. they added.
"The steel sector is like a bus. The driver is China, and half of the passengers are from China. We go where the bus goes," Ugur Dalbeler, ceo of Turkish steelmaker ??olakoglu had said in late 2020.
"And we the passengers have no seatbelts. We may fall and get hurt if the bus stops suddenly," a Turkish source added.
Buyers now want to see the direction of prices after the Chinese New Year holiday, which ends on February 17.

Scrap prices increased in the run up to the Chinese New Year holiday - which started on Thursday night - resulting in the expectation of price increases...

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