During the panel discussion at the SteelOrbis Market Talks Meeting held in Izmir this week, Serdar Kilimci, sales manager of Turkish steel producer Colakoglu Metalurji, discussed the possible reasons for the increase in Turkish flat steel prices in the previous month.

Mr. Kilimci said that flat steel demand from Italy increased in line with the halt of production by major Italian steelmaker Ilva, leading to a rise in prices. He stated that another reason for the upward movement in Turkish flat steel prices was that increasing iron ore prices provided support for higher prices of slab, which in turn were reflected in prices of flat steel. He stressed that in his view the increase in Turkey's flat steel prices is not sustainable. Kilimci said he expects flat steel prices to maintain sideways movement in 2013, remarking also that the imbalance between supply and demand affects prices and the prices are shaped according to the market situation.

The Colakoglu official stated that, as a hot rolled coil producer, the company aims to supply cold rolling mills and pipe producers who usually meet their flat steel requirements through imports, while he went on to point out that one third of Turkey's hot rolled sheet needs are met through imports and, though it is unlikely that imports will be eliminated altogether, import volumes have seen decreases. He added that hot rolled sheet imports from Ukraine and Russia decreased by 1.5 million mt.