Players in the Italian flat steel market agree in defining the beginning of 2014 as "weak" and in line with the final part of last year. In particular, in the last 10-15 days the weakness in the Italian steel market seems to have increased due to negative factors such as the recent scrap and iron ore price decreases and the further decrease in demand. After the bottom levels reached last November, the Italian flat steel producers had proposed a total increase of €30/mt ($41/mt) in the middle of January, but met with a negative response from the downstream side. This increase failed to be absorbed and prices have decreased since then. The Italian flat steel market, besides being affected by a lack of confidence and a negative environment, also continues to be faced with the usual financial problems.
Currently, Italian domestic producers' base prices are at €430-440/mt ($589-603/mt) for hot rolled coils (HRC), €505-510/mt ($692-700/mt) for cold rolled coils (CRC) and €490-500/mt ($671-685/mt) for hot dip galvanized (HDG) coils, all ex-works.
€1= $1.37