Before we entered the current week, Ukrainian steelmaker Ilyich production hot rolled coils were being offered at $545-550/mt CFR Turkey for late August shipments, while cold rolled coils were being offered at $620-625/mt CFR; however, there has been an increase in these offers as of this week. Offers for hot rolled materials have increased to above $550/mt CFR, while offers for cold rolled materials have reached $630/mt CFR level. These offers are expected to maintain their levels throughout this week.
With regard to Russia, MMK production hot rolled coils were being offered at $615/mt CFR for late August shipments, while cold rolled coils were being offered at $675/mt CFR Turkey; however, it is heard that actual sales for HRC are being concluded at $605-615/mt CFR.
Having filled its August order book, Bulgarian steelmaker Kremikovtzi is now offering hot rolled coils at $610/mt CIF FO Turkey for September shipments. The mill concludes sales at this price level also for mid and late September shipments.
With regard to Europe, the sales price of hot rolled coils in the local Italian market is at €485-490/mt FOT. Although traders are seeking to hike the prices to a range of €500-505/mt FOT, buyers are able to keep them at a range of €485-490/mt FOT. The ongoing calm in this market is expected to continue for a while.
In the local Turkish market, the declining stocks of both end-users and traders may cause demand to rise soon. In this event, there may not be any big changes in the prices. However, demand for Ilyich production materials is expected to increase. Consequently, taking into account the fact that there is no material (produced by Kremikovtzi, Zaporizhstal and MMK) available for August deliveries, it is expected that the demand will shift to Ilyich materials.
On the other hand, with respect to galvanized materials, the market for this product is calm both in Turkey and Europe. The general sentiment is that following China's new export duty, shipments to Europe will not be as they used to be for at least 1-2 months. This situation together with the calm state in Europe indicates that the galvanized market is the weakest market of all the flat products.