Turkey earthquake to impact long steel supply in Feb

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake hitting southeastern Turkey on Monday is expected to dampen the supply of long steel in the area in February, as Turkish energy suppliers have temporarily halted deliveries of natural gas to this area, and the port of Iskenderun suffered severe damages as well, Mysteel has learned from sources. Local steel mills have not been impacted by the earthquake though.

The huge earthquake triggered a fire at the port of Iskenderun - the second largest port in southern Turkey, causing all operations there to be suspended until further notice, according to sources.

Steel producers in the southeastern part of Turkey, mostly long steel makers, account for about 30% of the country's total electric-arc-furnace steel capacity, equivalent to around 11.7 million tonnes of steel output per year, Mysteel noted.

Turkey's rebar export market has remained calm so far, and as of February 8, the country's export price of B500B 20-40mm rebar under Mysteel's assessment stayed unchanged from February 6 to settle at $700/tonne FOB.

For 2022, Turkey's total production of crude steel came in at 35.1 million tonnes, registering a 12.9% on-year decline, the data from the World Steel Association showed.

The combined death toll in Turkey and neighboring Syria has risen past 15,000, according to a media report.

Written by Rong Zhang, zhangronga@mysteel.com

This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.