Upon their return from the holiday steel producers in the
CIS have started to test the export markets with slight price increases for February production hot rolled coil (
HRC).
In particular, Ukrainian producers
Ilyich and
Zaporizhstal are offering
HRC to the export markets at $25-30/mt higher as compared to the previous month.
HRC offers from the
CIS for Europe are standing at the level of $560-565/mt FOB. SteelOrbis has been informed that some orders for small volumes for this destination have already been confirmed.
In the meantime, Russian producer Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (
MMK) is also following the current upward price trend and is now offering February materials at $20-25/mt higher than January production prices. Thus, its offers of
HRC for the Middle East are standing at the level of $580-590/mt FOB, while its offers for Europe are at $585-595/mt FOB.
Prices of
iron ore and steel
scrap constitute one of the main factors behind the current increases in steel prices. Besides, Asian producers' price hikes are also pushing the
CIS suppliers to raise their offers. In particular, South Korea's
POSCO is offering
HRC at the level of $590-600/mt FOB, and the producer will likely increase its prices by $10-20/mt in the coming week, while
HRC offers from
China are already $20-30/mt higher compared with previous levels and are now standing at $600/mt FOB. An additional factor are the post-holiday restocking activities aimed at meeting minimum needs, though buyers are very cautious and are not in a hurry to buy materials at offered prices, but prefer to wait and see.