The progressive strengthening of hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in Italy has continued. According to market sources, currently local HRC base prices are at around €490/mt ($554/mt) ex-works, compared to €480-490/mt one week ago.
However, demand in the local Italian HRC market has remained weak, with buyers who are not in a hurry to buy, but who are now considering import offers as these have started to show some decreases recently. According to one market source, local Italian producers may seek to sell to the export markets at competitive prices, in order to reduce supply in the domestic market and so be able to keep their prices at high levels. Meanwhile, HRC prices in northern Europe are mostly at around €510/mt ($576/mt) ex-works, i.e., €20/mt higher than in the Italian domestic market.
€1 = $1.13