In the afternoon of today, November 29, Italian prime minister Mario Monti, various ministers, unions and local administrators are meeting to discuss measures which could allow Italian steelmaker Ilva to continue production at its Taranto complex. At present, the Italian flat steel market remains in standby mode as it awaits the outcome of these discussions. Currently, domestic steel producers in Italy - including, of course, Ilva - are not selling. However, in the last 15 days flat steel prices in Italy have gradually increased also for reasons that have nothing to do with the Ilva case. Among these factors are the uptrend in flat steel prices in various countries and the negative financial results observed in Italian companies approaching the end of the year.
According to Italian market players, in the last 15 days flat steel prices in the Italian market have risen by €10-30/mt ($13-39/mt). Italian producers' hot rolled coil (HRC) offers are now at base price levels of around €470-480/mt ($611-624/mt), their cold rolled coil (CRC) offers are at about €540-555/mt ($702-722/mt), while hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil prices are standing at €530-540/mt ($689-702/mt), all ex-works.
Over the past two months, demand from end-users has been falling gradually, while developments of recent days in relation to Ilva have led to further caution. At the moment, sources consulted by SteelOrbis speak of a "confused" downstream market which continues to be plagued by the problem of insolvency.
€1 = $1.30