Over the past two weeks, prices in the local Italian flat steel market have decreased further. Local producers' domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) base prices are now at €525-535/mt ($620-631/mt) down €5/mt, while domestic cold rolled coil (CRC) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil quotations have decreased by €2.5/mt and €15/mt to €605-620/mt ($714-732/mt) and €600-620/mt ($708-732/mt), respectively, all ex-works.
The price decreases - which were stronger for HDG due to high product availability - are due to negative sentiment and low transaction volumes. For the medium term, uncertainty is created by the situation regarding domestic producer Ilva and by the safeguard investigation of the EU Commission into steel imports. On the bright side, according to sources, local service centres should resume purchase as their stocks have fallen to low levels and because prices are now more attractive. For this reason, sources think local prices should not decrease further in the coming period, also because the euro-dollar exchange rate has further reduced the competitiveness of import offers.
€1 = $1.18