Despite the continued uncertainty surrounding trade, the Romanian flat steel producer and spot traders have kept their flat steel prices stable week on week. Nonetheless, to attract more purchasers, both traders and the sole producer have chosen to give discounts if the quantity is sufficient and the customers are serious. On the other hand, industry participants feel that the lack of demand is felt not only by sellers but also by customers as an outcome of the summer holiday period and financial worries.
“Pricing generally falls in the market with discounts, but we still do not have officially altered prices. However, because demand is low, we are evaluating price adjustments on a case-by-case basis,” a representative of the producer told SteelOrbis.
Over the past week, the domestic steel producer in Romania has maintained offers for hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC) at €615-620/mt ex-works and €715-720/mt ex-works, respectively. Similarly, the spot market prices for hot rolled sheets (HRS) and cold rolled sheets (CRS) has remained unchanged from last week, at €740-750/mt ex-warehouse and €860-880/mt ex-warehouse, respectively.
The domestic mill's local market pricing for HDG and PPGI has also remained stable week on week at €785-790/mt ex-works and €1,065-1,070/mt ex-works, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the import category, sources claim that ex-Ukraine offers for HRS and CRS have remained stable week on week at €620/mt DAP and €710-720/mt DAP, respectively. In contrast, Turkish offers have continued to fall by €15-20/mt, with FOB prices of $570-585/mt and freight costs of approximately €25/mt, arriving in Romania at roughly €550-565/mt CFR. However, purchasers must be aware that this price level is without duty, with Turkish material subject to antidumping duties in the EU depending on the supplier.