While the coronavirus outbreak is still creating uncertainties in the European market, local HRC prices have remained mostly stable due to low supply and still few imports. In the Italian domestic market, HRC transaction prices are still at €445/mt ex-works, i.e., unchanged compared to last week. As reported previously, the coronavirus emergency is not having a significant impact on deliveries yet, though it is taking a toll on demand as end-users have no confidence at the moment. A few producers are pushing for price levels of €460-470/mt ex-works, but with no results so far. On the other hand, local traders have told SteelOrbis that they have finally been able to pass on some increases to their customers.
Meanwhile, ex-Turkey offers for Italy are still pretty high at €460-470/mt CFR, also considering the longer lead times involved compared to domestic offers. However, competitive offers from the Far East have started to be heard in other countries in Europe - among these, ex-Japan HRC offers at $485/mt CFR Spain.
Speaking of Spain, sources have reported offers from Taranto-based ArcelorMittal Italia at €460/mt CFR, while steelmakers in northern Italy still prefer selling to northern Europe countries such as Germany, and also to Poland. As for northern Europe, domestic HRC prices have increased slightly in the past week, from €480/mt ex-works to €480-485/mt ex-works. In general, market sources find it hard to make predictions. Some of them underlined that raw material prices have remained quite high, with iron ore prices even increasing recently to $88-89/mt CFR China.
A lot will also depend on import prices and concerns about the impact of the coronavirus. "We can rest assured that, if the coronavirus emergency passes, buyers will come back to the market and prices will be supported," one source commented.