Despite the slowdown in trade and the softening of HRC pricing by European producers, Romania's only flat steel producer has kept flat steel offers stable week on week. Furthermore, according to a representative of the sole producer, amid consistent demand, the producer’s blast furnace that remained idle in recent months will be restarted next week. In the meantime, flat steel traders in Romania have been facing a challenging demand situation, though they have kept their prices stable, with discounts offered to serious buyers.
“Despite relatively weak sales, prices have not changed this week, but we anticipate a softening in the following week, “a trader told SteelOrbis
Over the past week, the Romanian producer has continued to maintain hot rolled coil (HRC) prices at €725-730/mt ex-works, while holding back cold rolled coil (CRC) offers. Similarly, the mill's domestic pricing for HDG and PPGI is stable week on week at €780-785/mt ex-works and €1,055-1,080/mt ex-works, respectively.
Romanian traders, on the other hand, have kept prices unchanged week on week as there has been no significant interest in the demand segment. As a result, hot rolled sheet (HRS) and cold rolled sheet (CRS) prices are stable at €780-790/mt ex-warehouse and €870-880/mt ex-warehouse, respectively.
Considering the abundance of goods, Romanian traders have remained largely uninterested in purchases and import activity has remained quiet. However, offers from Turkey have increased by €5/mt, with FOB prices at $690-700/mt and freight charges of around €25/mt, arriving in Romania at €665-675/mt CFR.