In the Italian flat steel market quotations have remained virtually unchanged from last week. Hot rolled coils (HRC) are offered at €490-500/mt ($608-620/mt), cold rolled coils (CRC) are at around €570/mt ($707/mt), while hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil prices are standing at €540-550/mt ($670-682/mt), all ex-works.
According to local sources, in the downstream market nothing has changed in terms of demand. There is a lot of skepticism about the possibility of seeing some recovery in the short term and, in general, the macroeconomic situation has contributed to increasing the concerns of market players. Global prices are in decline or at best static, but in Italy significant price drops have been avoided. Meanwhile, the euro-dollar exchange has prevented the entry of foreign material into the domestic market, as evidenced by the figures which indicate that in January-April this year HRC exported from Turkey to Italy decreased by 83 percent on year-on-year basis.
At the same time, no one believes that there are substantial increases on the horizon, despite the announcements made in the past month by steel producers such as ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia. In fact, most believe that the increases announced will serve mostly to stop the price slide and may not materialize until September. Given the approach of the summer stoppages, prices in the Italian flat steel market should continue to remain at current levels at least until late August.
€1 = $1.24