There has been an increase in the new prices announced by the Ukrainian flats producers this week. An increase of $20/mt was announced for prices of hot rolled coils, while the prices of cold rolled coils went up by $15-20/mt. The surge in the prices of flat rolled materials is expected to continue in the coming period. Ukrainian steelmaker Ilyich is offering hot rolled coils at $575-580/mt CFR Turkey for October shipments. On the other hand, cold rolled coils ex-same mill are being offered at $645-655/mt CFR Turkey, also for October shipments. However, it is said that the mill has not much material available for export.
On the other hand, there is an increase of $15/mt in the price of hot rolled coils ex-Zaporizhstal, another Ukrainian steelmaker, while its cold rolled coil prices rose by $10-15/mt compared to a month ago. However, the producer has announced that the discounts made in the prices announced last month will not be effective for the new prices. Therefore, the actual increase in Zaporizhstal's prices is $20-25/mt for both HRC and CRC. The increase in prices is expected to continue in the short run. The latest prices announced by Zaporizhstal are at $590/mt CFR Turkey for HRC and at $650/mt CFR Turkey for CRC.
An expectation of a revival in the flats market after the post-holiday return of southern Europe to the market reigns in the overall European market. In particular, prices in the southern European market are expected to increase. The fact that stockists prefer to defer their sales until after the holiday although they have material in hand may cause demand to increase. US origin goods, bookings for which were concluded in recent months, are currently entering the southern European market. Following the decline in the shipments made from China to southern Europe, an increase is expected in shipments from North Africa, Iran and the US to this market. The ongoing slowdown in northern Europe has continued this week as well. However, the fact that the holiday period will come to an end soon will also give momentum to this market. A price slackening has been seen in the Baltic region, with a decline of $10/mt in HRC prices and a decline of $5/mt in CRC prices.
Prices are expected to increase in Turkey as well as in Europe in the coming period. The fact that the Europeans will return from holiday soon and that the prices of the CIS mills have increased, coupled with the expectations that this winter will be harsher than last winter, are the main reasons for this expectation.