European buyers, in particular in southern Europe, have been actively buying various kinds of import steel products and it seems this trend will continue for a while. One reason is that some producers are trying to substitute missing slab and flats volumes which were earlier supplied from Ukraine and Russia. Another reason is the tremendous surge in steel and raw material prices globally, which pushes buyers to restock before offers increase even further. The increased energy costs and blurry expectations regarding future developments in the sector are other issues.
According to sources, ex-India HRC for May shipments have recently been sold to Spain at €1,140/mt CFR, up from the sale at €1,100/mt CFR closed earlier. Italian buyers have booked HRC from India at $1,190/mt CFR and from Egypt at $1,260/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned. New offers are expected to be heard next week from Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam, and prices are expected to increase by €20-30/mt minimum and to come closer to the most recent ex-India deal prices or to exceed them. Turkish mills are not negotiating actively these days to sell HRC to the EU since their offer prices are at $1,200-1,260/mt FOB and there is a considerable antidumping rate for their products. However, if HRC prices continue to rise globally, Turkey may have more chances to sell.
The EU’s import activity is high not only in the flats segment, but also for semis. Following a number of deals from India, Indonesia and Brazil at $895-900/mt CFR and from Vietnam at $950/mt CFR, offers have increased significantly. The latest slab price from India has been reported at $1,000/mt CFR, while Indonesia is currently not in the market, having sold most of its May production slabs. It is noteworthy that some strange slab offers have recently emerged in the European market and many market players believe these may be considered as attempts by Russian mills to continue their exports and to bypass sanctions. In particular, it is reported that China, which has never exported slabs even in the worst times, is offering the product to Europe at $980/mt CFR. In addition, “re-export” slab offers from Iran are at $820/mt CFR and previously sources informed SteelOrbis that Russia could try selling its products through Iranian territory and even as Iranian origin. “It doesn’t look good and smells bad. When was the last time we had offers from Iran here? And from China? So, it is a strange coincidence,” one trader told SteelOrbis.
European buyers also seem to be interested in billet purchases, most probably due to their own increased production costs and perhaps aiming to substitute some scrap volumes. In addition, all ex-CIS shipments, at least for March and April, will certainly not be fulfilled, and so some mills are trying to find substitute material. In particular, Spain and Italy have been inquiring in Turkey, but their bids at $900/mt FOB have not been accepted. Some sources have reported ex-Iran billet was sold at $800/mt CFR, but the information has not been confirmed by the time of publication. In the meantime, one Italian mill seems to have booked wire rod grade billet from India at $950/mt CFR.
