Following the increases seen in previous months, Italian producers’ flat steel product prices for their domestic market have remained stable for the second consecutive week in the range of €430-450/mt ($482-504/mt) for hot rolled coil (HRC), at €520-535/mt ($583-600/mt) for cold rolled coil (CRC) and at €520/mt ($583/mt) for hot dip galvanized (HDG), all ex-works.
In the meantime, European producers are willing to push for some further increases, but they need to take into account demand which, though stable, is not so strong. Market sources mention reduced levels of demand from the automotive industry, which has driven a good share of flat steel demand in recent months.
On the import side, some Chinese offers for cold rolled coil have appeared in the Italian market at $480/mt CFR, which is a relatively attractive price level, even though it does not include the provisional 16 percent antidumping duty.
In the current situation, it seems difficult for Italian producers to push for a price increase since they have to balance their offers with low demand and the reappearance of Chinese offers in the market.
€1 = $1.12