Demand in the European flat steel market is still at low levels amid the declines seen this week in import flat steel offers and also due to buyers still waiting to see developments in the flat steel market. Following the decision to not impose any preliminary margins in the ongoing antidumping investigation, CIS-based suppliers have quickly accelerated their flat steel offers to the region and, with the increased supply volume, import flat steel prices have fallen rapidly. This decline seen in import flat steel prices have exerted pressure on domestic steel producers' quotations, while buyers continue to postpone their purchases with the expectation of a further fall in flat steel prices.
Domestic hot rolled coil (
HRC) prices in Europe have declined by €10/mt week on week to €490-540/mt ($539-594/mt) ex-works. Meanwhile, cold rolled coil (
CRC) and hot dip
galvanized (HDG) coil prices in the local European market have remained stable in the same period at €600-650/mt ($660-715/mt) ex-works and €630-680/mt ($693-748/mt) ex-works, respectively.
On the other hand, ex-CIS
HRC offers to Europe are currently at $430-450/mt FOB, while Turkish and Indian
HRC offers to the same destination stand at $480-490/mt FOB and $440-450/mt FOB, respectively.
€1 = $1.10