Italian steel producer Marcegaglia has lately announced that its flat steel price levels will be increased by €20/mt ($25/mt), as part of a return to "survival mode". It also said that its production levels will be reduced to match demand levels, which are still weak in the domestic market.
There is a great skepticism about the likely effectiveness of this move, especially in light of the recent decreases of previous weeks. Also, service centers think that, if other big Italian producers do not make any move, then the situation in the market should not change.
Marcegaglia's move seems to reflect ArcelorMittal's decision to raise its flat steel offers by €20/mt. Anyway, market players comment that ArcelorMittal's offers were already €20/mt higher compared to Italian domestic offers, and so raising them by other €20/mt will not help to attract business in the Italian import market, where demand has been slack in recent months. Meanwhile, another top producer, Indian steelmaker Tata Steel, has indicated that it intends to increase its offers as well.
At the moment, in the Italian flat steel market, hot rolled coils (HRC) are offered at €490-500/mt ($616-629/mt), cold rolled coils (CRC) are at around €570-580/mt ($717-730/mt), while hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil prices are standing at €540-560/mt ($679-705/mt), all ex-works.