Demand in European flat steel market increases ahead of holiday season

Demand in the European flat steel market has been at medium levels during the past two weeks, slightly increasing despite the approaching holiday season. Market sources state that purchases are made mostly from the local market but that significantly increases are sometimes seen in import volumes due to fluctuations in the euro-US dollar exchange rate.
 
In the current week, hot rolled coil (HRC) offers in the local European market are in the range of €395-435/mt ($435-479/mt), cold rolled coil (CRC) offers are at €460-490/mt ($506-539/mt) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil offers are at €480-500/mt ($528-550/mt), all ex-works. Over the past two weeks, local HRC prices in actual deals have declined by $10/mt on the lower end, while prices of other flat steel products have remained unchanged. Import flat steel offers to Europe have also remained unchanged; import HRC and CRC offers - from sources such as China, India, the CIS, Turkey and Iran - are currently at €380-400/mt ($418-440/mt) CIF and €430-460/mt ($473-506/mt) CIF, respectively. 
 
€1 = $ 1.10