Italian domestic flat steel prices have decreased further compared to a week ago but, according to market sources, the winds are changing. As of late last week, Italian producers have started to stop giving offers or have begun to ask for price increases of €10-20/mt, with the aim of triggering an upward trend in the coming period. While import offers are not competitive enough, service centers, distributors and traders have increased their purchases recently. As a result, Italian producers have decent order books and are not in a hurry to sell.
According to sources, flat steel prices have reached the bottom, with domestic producers' hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC) base prices falling by €10/mt to €430-450/mt ($486-508/mt) ex-works and €540-570/mt ($610-644/mt) ex-works respectively, while hot dip galvanized (HDG) prices have decreased by €5/mt on average to the range of €560-580/mt ($633-655/mt) ex-works, all week on week. If the price increase attempts by Italian producers are successful, HRC prices could reach levels of €450-470/mt ($508-531/mt) in the coming days.
€1 = $1.13