Last week Italian flats mill Riva Group increased its prices. Concluding its most recent HRC booking at the level of €360/mt ex-works, the producer last week raised its prices by €20/mt to the level of €380/mt ex-works. Following the increases in import flats offers received from Turkey and Ukraine, Italian producers have also increased their prices. For the local market, Riva has started to give offers at the base price levels of €380/mt, €430/mt and €440/mt respectively for HRC, CRC and HDG. However, in the previous weeks, overall import offers given to Italy were standing at €380/mt CFR for HRC and in the range of €420-440/CFR for CRC. With Italian mills' increasing their prices, import offers now appear to be more acceptable. Meanwhile, it is expected that domestic HRC prices in the local Italian market will be at the level of €400/mt in September.
As we look at the other southern European countries, import prices have also increased in Bulgaria and Greece; however, these new prices have yet to be accepted. In Bulgaria, Ukrainian mill Zaporizhstal's new offers were awaited with anticipation. Zaporizhstal's new offers given from the port of Ismail are at $505/mt FOB for HRC and at $570/mt FOB for CRC. Bulgarian mill Stomana is offering plate at the level of €415/mt ex-works for low tonnages, while a discount of €30-40/mt is applied on prices for high tonnages.
As for Portugal, prices last week trended neutral in the local market. HRC prices have maintained the levels of €400-410/mt ex-warehouse. Portuguese HDG mill Lusosider's HDG base prices have continued to stand at €450/mt.
It is still uncertain whether the increased prices will gain acceptance in the southern European flats markets. Due to the approaching holidays and the overhauling activities of mills in Europe, southern European market players are moving with caution in terms of concluding bookings for September-October shipments. However, it seems that mills in southern Europe are unlikely to lower their prices unless they increase their capacities or unless their order books are not filled to satisfactory levels.