Demand for flat steel in Turkey failed to improve in March and most prices went downward, with demand unlikely to improve significantly in April, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 3.
Local producers have filled their order books until late May, they added.The price decreases in March were because of the weak demand in both local and export markets.Mayoral elections were held across Turkey on March 31, and buyers wanted to see the results of this process before placing orders.The official results of these elections have not been announced yet. Unofficially, the Justice & Development Party (AKP) - the party of national government - won the majority of the votes for mayors, but principal cities such as Ankara, Istanbul, Adana and Antalya all elected mayors from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).In addition to the electoral uncertainty, the Turkish lira continued to lose value against other currencies during the month, which created economic concerns.By March 31, the value of the lira had fallen to TRY100 to $17.54, compared with TRY100 to $18.77 on March 1, according to exchange rate website...