Considering the persistently weak demand and the high inventory levels in the market, Romanian flat steel spot prices have moved down this week. Market participants note that available stocks remain more than sufficient, and, with sales activity already limited, sellers see no realistic scope for raising prices. Despite upward pricing sentiment in the EU HRC market driven by CBAM-related expectations, this trend has not been translated into the Romanian market, where buyers remain cautious and continue purchasing only small, essential volumes. In addition, with the end-of-year holidays nearing, business activity is expected to slow further.
As a result, spot market quotations for hot rolled sheet (HRS) have edged down to €710-735/mt ex-warehouse, compared with €720-745/mt ex-warehouse last week.
Cold rolled sheet (CRS) prices have followed a similar trend, declining to €825-845/mt ex-warehouse, down from €835-865/mt ex-warehouse in the previous week.
Meanwhile, Romania’s sole flat steel producer, Liberty Galati, has remained silent, with no updates released regarding its operational or financial situation. Workers again staged strikes this week to protest delayed salary payments, adding to ongoing concerns. At the same time, another payment-related issue surfaced abroad and a former Liberty Steel executive has filed a lawsuit in Dubai seeking $30 million in unpaid wages and bonuses from Sanjeev Gupta’s company. Although no official conclusions have been announced regarding Liberty Galati’s future, market participants increasingly believe the outlook is deteriorating and the plant is moving closer to bankruptcy.
On the import side, Romanian buyers still have high stock levels and remain largely inactive, purchasing only occasional medium-sized lots from nearby countries when necessary. As a result, import activity has stayed quiet, even though some suppliers have raised prices in response to CBAM-related uncertainty. According to market reports, the Ukrainian supplier has increased its offers by €10/mt for both product groups, now quoting HRS at €650-660/mt CPT and CRS at €740-750/mt CPT. Likewise, a Slovakian supplier raised its HRS offer by €10/mt to €660-670/mt CPT compared with last week. In contrast, Turkish suppliers have made minor adjustments to their pricing, slightly increasing their offers on the lower end, while reducing prices on the upper end. As a result, offers for January shipment have settled at €475-485/mt CFR, including estimated freight costs of €15-20/mt, compared with last week’s range of €470-490/mt CFR. It is worth noting that these import prices are duty-free depending on the origin, although Turkish material remains subject to EU antidumping duties.
