The hot rolled coil (HRC) market in the Mediterranean region remains positive in terms of prices and demand, in particular in the EU. European buyers are actively searching to secure volumes, taking into account the limited domestic allocation, the recent price increase by ArcelorMittal, and the lack of offers with acceptable lead times. In addition, the Suez Canal crisis has increased fears regarding delays in deliveries of orders previously booked from Asia. As a result, EU-based customers have been ready to pay higher prices to suppliers who have material for June-July shipment on hand, in particular those in Russia, Egypt, and Turkey.
Russia’s Severstal continues to benefit from the situation in the European market and for some months now has not been interested in selling to distant outlets. At the end of last week, the company had sold a total of 40,000 mt of HRC for May production to northern Europe at $900-915/mt FOB base, SteelOrbis has learned. Earlier last week, the supplıer was targeting sales at $900/mt FOB, while in mid-March its deals to the same destination were closed at $875-880/mt FOB.
In addition, Egypt’s Ezz Steel has recently sold around 30,000 mt of HRC to Italy and Spain at $905/mt FOB for June-July shipments. In addition, the producer increased its local price by $75/mt at the end of last week to $840/mt ex-works.
A Turkey-based producer has also sold around 5,000 mt of HRC to the south of the EU at $890/mt FOB for July shipment. Last week, the range of offers from Turkey stood at $880-900/mt FOB and above, as previously reported.
European buyers are expected to remain active in terms of imports, specifically due to the lack of supply in their local markets and high prices. Some sellers have stopped offering for now, either not having material in hand or trying to gain a better market understanding. The Suez Canal situation has been adding to tensions as there is a good chance that deliveries of orders from Asia will be delayed significantly. According to the latest news, the Ever Given has finally been partially refloated, but sailing operations have not yet been restored in the canal. Some sources, familiar with the situation, say that this stage was the easiest and that still there is a lot to be done in order to resolve the situation completely.