In northern Europe, the flat markets have continued their stable trend. In the local Polish market, HRC prices, which were heard to be at €600/mt ex-works last week, have remained at the same levels. HRC buyers are expecting a price correction, while mills are seen to be trying to maintain prices stable rather than decreasing them. European mills, which make sales on euro basis, have had difficulties with the decline of the euro in relation to the dollar. Having planned to reflect increased production costs in finished product prices, mills are expected to make downward corrections to their prices due to lack of interest from buyers in their offers. HRC buyers have slowed down their purchases, while inventory levels have registered slight decreases.
Looking at the import offers to Poland, Ukrainian mill Zaporizhstal has also followed the general trend of correction of prices. Zaporizhstal has decreased its HRC offers from last week's levels of $660/mt DAF by another $30/mt to $630/mt DAF. Likewise, according to traders which import HRC to Poland, HRC offers have room for another decrease of $20-30/mt. Generally speaking, end-user demand remains weak. Expecting further price corrections to take place, end-users have slowed their purchasing activity, causing local transaction activity to decrease. Generally, both local and import markets are expected to gain momentum again in line with the price corrections expected in the coming days. Meanwhile, SteelOrbis has heard that demand for shipbuilding plate and commercial grade plate is tending to gain strength.