Italian flat steel buyers show little interest in imports for time being

With the resumption of activity after the holiday period, Italian flat steel producers have raised their official prices for pickled and unpickled hot rolled coils (HRC) by €10-15/mt ($14-20/mt) compared to the end of July/beginning of August. Cold rolled coil (CRC) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil prices, on the other hand, have not moved.
 
However, most local market operators believe that there is not much chance of the new HRC prices being accepted by buyers. The Italian flats market is still showing weak demand from both service centers and end-users, and everyone wants to keep inventories at very low levels and avoid risks. Nevertheless, flat steel prices in Italy may increase to some extent in the near future, in order to stay in line with international quotations, which are higher at the moment. The rise in local flat steel prices could also be supported by the recent weakening of the euro against the US dollar
 
Currently, in the local Italian market, base prices for hot rolled coils stand at €525-535/mt ($714-725/mt) ex-works, while cold rolled coils and hot dip galvanized (HDG) base prices are respectively at €590-600/mt ($802-816/mt) ex-works and €560-570/mt ($762-775/mt) ex-works.
 
On the import side, at present offers are too high to stimulate Italian buyers' interest. Offers for Turkish origin HRC are €30-40/mt (41-54/mt) higher than prices in the local Italian market, and for CRC the gap is even wider, reaching around €80/mt ($109/mt). Offers from China and CIS exporters are also too expensive currently. In recent days, some previously booked cargoes of HRC have been arriving at Italian ports, but local traders are expected to hold on to these materials, hoping that prices will increase in the near future and that they will thus obtain higher profit margins.