The Italian flat products market is still somewhat short of breath and the difficulties it has been experiencing have still not been overcome, thus report various players involved in the market.
Currently, the main problem seen in the Italian flats market is one of excess supply. The high tonnages ordered in previous months have not yet been sold off and both Italy's ports and inland warehouses are well stocked with coils and sheets. The current abundant supply in the market has caused a slowdown in apparent demand on the part of traders and service centers and also a slackening-off of orders being placed with the steel mills. This situation, combined with levels of real demand which are not great (even though slightly up compared to June), has resulted in a comprehensive lowering of prices.
At present, predictions regarding the market's return after the August holidays are still uncertain. The offers made by the mills for September are down compared with the levels of recent weeks, while a reference price has not yet been fixed for October. According to market operators, any increases in prices will be closely linked to the demand from end-users. However, the market may receive a boost from the closure foreseen for October of Ilva's hot strip mill No. 2, which could entail a drop in supply and thus put pressure on quotations.