TURKEY FLAT STEEL: Prices continue incline on weak year-end buying

Flat steel prices in Turkey continued to increase in the week to Thursday December 31, but buying was weak because most buyers were busy with inventory calculations, sources told Fastmarkets.

Additionally, hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices fell during the week in China because of weak trading, which created market concerns of whether global flat steel prices will follow, trading sources said.
Fastmarkets' daily index for steel hot-rolled coil export, fob main port China was $687.24 per tonne on Thursday December 24, then fell to $653.25 per tonne on Wednesday December 30 before rebounding to $658.70 per tonne on December 31.
HRC producers in Turkey are offering material for April production while cold-rolled coil (CRC) is on offer for late February production at the earliest, trading sources said.

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