Low domestic demand and oversupply continue to drag down flat steel prices both in Italy and in the rest of the EU. In the Italian domestic market, base prices of hot rolled coil (HRC) are in the range of €410-430/mt ($447-469/mt) ex works, down €5/mt on average from last week. Meanwhile, cold rolled coil (CRC) prices stand at €500-510/mt ($545-556/mt), while hot galvanized (HDG) coil prices are mainly at €505-515/mt ($550-561/mt), all ex-works. At the same time, heavy plate prices are at €490-500/mt ($534-545/mt) ex-works, according to local sources.
Meanwhile, in northern Europe, HRC prices are at €445-455/mt ($485-496/mt) ex-works, down €5/mt compared to ten days ago. Delivery times across the EU generally amount to five weeks, but in some cases they are even lower than a month.
As previously reported, further price decreases are expected for the next few months, to which producers will try to respond with production cuts.
On a positive note, the downward pressure due to import offers seems to have eased in the past few days. Currently, such offers are not considered particularly competitive as domestic prices are still falling and it is not clear what levels they will reach before they plateau.
€1 = $1.09