Since trade has not increased in tandem with spot prices, a Romanian flat steel spot trader has opted to maintain offers unchanged compared to last week. According to market participants, the mood remains gloomy in the market as demand is stable, but buyers are unwilling to accept price hikes. Since the situation in the Romanian market is not particularly positive, the country's sole flat steel producer is still not producing or offering products to the local market.
“We are now not hearing about production or pricing from the sole producer, while our situation is neither good nor bad, just indications point to the lack of market optimism that would permit further price increases,” a trader told SteelOrbis.
Over the past week, in the Romanian spot market, prices for hot rolled sheet (HRS) and cold rolled sheet (CRS) have remained unchanged from the previous week at €730-735/mt ex-warehouse and €825-840/mt ex-warehouse, respectively. Meanwhile, the sole Romanian flat steel producer is still not offering.
On the other hand, in the import segment, while no deals have been heard from the market, HRC offers from Turkey have decreased this week, with FOB prices at approximately $575-590/mt and freight costs at around €25/mt, resulting in a price to Romania at around €555-570/mt CFR, down from €565-570/mt CFR in previous weeks. However, according to sources, Ukrainian suppliers have kept HRS and CRS offers stable week on week at €660-670/mt DAP and €750-760/mt DAP, respectively.