According to sources, hot rolled coil (
HRC) base prices in
Italy are currently at €490-510/mt ($549-571/mt) ex-works. Meanwhile, cold rolled coil (
CRC) prices are at €590-610/mt ($661-683/mt) ex-works, while hot dip
galvanized (HDG) prices are in the range of €635-660/mt ($711-739/mt) ex-works.
These price levels show slight decreases compared to two weeks ago. Market sources say that, amid the ongoing decreases in iron ore prices, Italian flat steel producers are not willing to buy and are ordering only what they need. Furthermore, they have gradually reduced their stocks in the last few months, but their supplies have not decreased to levels low enough to spur significant purchases.
Also, Italian distributors are aiming at obtaining
HRC prices at around or even below €450/mt ($504/mt), but producers do not want to grant significant price decreases. According to some sources, unless iron ore prices and flat steel import offers soften to very low levels, flat steel prices will not decrease significantly in
Italy (and in Europe) in the short term. For this reason, no major changes are foreseen in prices in the coming weeks.
€1= $1.12