Italian flat steel producers are not now so willing to grant discounts and have increased their domestic offers by between €10/mt ($14/mt) and €30/mt ($41/mt) compared to about two weeks ago. The producers’ hot rolled coil (HRC) base prices, which had decreased to close to €400/mt ($540/mt) ex-works, are now back at €430-440/mt ($581-594/mt) levels. At the same time, their base prices are at a minimum of €500/mt ($675/mt) for cold rolled coil (CRC) and at €500/mt ($675/mt) and above for hot dip galvanized (HDG) coils, both ex-works. Currently, demand in the market is still on the low side, but not as bad as it was back in September, while some small improvements in demand levels have been observed during the latest uptrend in prices.
On the whole, inventory levels in the Italian flat steel market remain low, but they are expected to see some moderate increases from the start of the Christmas holidays up to mid-January, a period when previously ordered materials are due to be delivered. However, inventory levels will still generally remain on the low side because of the chronic shortage of funds at all levels of the supply chain. For January deliveries, further price increases are expected, but caution prevails in the market. Local operators are hoping for an improvement in the economic situation in Italy in the medium term, while such an improvement has failed to materialize yet.
€1=$1.35