According to market sources, prices in the local Italian hot rolled coil (HRC) have increased to €470-480/mt ($531-542/mt) ex-works. In previous days, Italian producers tried to increase their prices by €30/mt, in order to emulate their northern European counterparts, but demand has generally remained weak. However, in Italy prices have increased by around €20/mt on average compared to the end of January, supported by the rise in international prices of both raw materials and HRC. According to market sources, the force majeure invoked by Vale after the suspension of production at the Brucutu mine in Brazil should lead to a further increase in costs for international flat steel producers, prompting them to insist on further price increases in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the prices of the HRC offered by Turkey to Italy showed a further rise, getting close to €500/mt ($565/mt) CFR Italy.
€1 = $1.13