Expectations are somewhat mixed in the ex-Russia hot rolled coil (HRC) market. The key reason is the anticipated weakening of the Turkish flats steel and scrap segments in addition to the competitive offers from China. However, the European market remains strong and provides good opportunities for some suppliers.
Russia’s Severstal is still enjoying lively demand from the EU, where another local price rise has been taken rather calmly by buyers. The producer has recently sold 50,000 mt of March HRC to northern EU at $780-790/mt FOB, while the previous deals were closed at the end of the year at $760/mt FOB, as SteelOrbis reported. “European mills are selling for April, while Russia is able to give shipments one month earlier,” a source said.
Russia’s MMK is still standing at $785-790/mt FOB or around $800/mt CFR Turkey. No fresh sales have been heard this week, specifically due to competitive Chinese prices in Turkey. Some deals for Chinese origin were closed at $720-730/mt CFR, with the new offers coming at various levels. Some reported offers at $730/mt CFR and above, while some have received prices at $700/mt CFR and below, all from traders.
NLMK, as reported earlier, has sold its remaining February production volumes to Turkey at $780-785/mt CFR. Some sources say there have been already deals for March rolling, but this information has not been confirmed by the time of publication.
In the local market in Russia, the price range for HRC for February production has been set at $761-784/mt (RUB 67,000-69,000/mt) CPT Moscow, SteelOrbis has learned.
US dollar-based prices do not include 20 percent VAT.
US$1 = RUB 73.36
