General outlook of flat rolled markets

Following the price announcement by Russian steelmaker Severstal, there has been an increase of $10/mt in the local Turkish market. The new prices announced by another Russian steelmaker MMK are at the same levels as the Severstal prices: the HRC price has been announced as $600/mt CFR, with the CRC price at $680/mt CFR. There was not much demand in the first days after the price announcements. However, demand saw an increase in subsequent days. The fact that demand has emerged despite the high price levels means that traders, having concluded sales at the new levels, think that prices will see a further slight increase. Taking into account the fact that the US will enter the market in the second quarter, there is no expectation of a significant increase in prices. Looking at the European market, we see that HRC prices are at Euro 460/mt. For the upcoming months, an increase of Euro 10-15/mt is expected. There may be further increases in the prices of HRC and plate, for which there is strong demand in Europe. CIS and Chinese mills are willing to hike their prices, particularly for plate. Ukrainian steelmakers are also expected to announce new prices in the coming period. Similar to Russian steelmakers, Ukrainian mills are also expected to announce higher prices. First of all, Zaporizhstal is expected to announce its prices, and is expected to be followed by Ilyich. There are rumors in the market that Ilyich will not offer many products to the Turkish market this month. If this happens, it is predicted that prices will either keep their levels or else rise. It is expected that the local markets will be sensitive to the upward trend in the global markets and that prices will increase further.