Despite the slowdown in business activity and construction projects, mainly due to the summer holidays in August, Romanian flat steel spot traders have decided to keep their offers stable. Although ArcelorMittal made an attempt to raise prices this week, the majority of market participants in Romania do not believe that, under current market conditions, such an upward trend is sustainable or will gain buyer acceptance. Meanwhile, Romania’s sole flat steel producer, Liberty Galati, remains idle, with a bleak outlook. As the end of the 30-day grace period granted by court authorities approaches, most Romanian market players are curious about how the plant plans to avoid insolvency.
Currently, in the spot market, workable domestic hot rolled sheet (HRS) prices are quoted at €700-720/mt ex-warehouse, unchanged from the previous week. However, some larger traders are offering HRS at lower levels of €670-680/mt ex-warehouse in an effort to attract buyers. Likewise, cold rolled sheet (CRS) offers have remained stable compared to last week, at around €825-835/mt ex-warehouse.
On the import side, due to ongoing weak demand, Romanian buyers are not engaging in significant restocking. However, according to sources, a few buyers in need of inventory are making limited purchases, primarily from nearby countries such as Ukraine, and in small volumes. Outside of the EU, material will only be available under the next import quota round, beginning October 1, which is currently too far off to drive purchasing activity. Romanian buyers may show renewed interest in early September. As a result of the sluggish market, offers from Ukraine have remained stable week on week for HRS and CRS at €580-600/mt CFR and €670-690/mt CFR, respectively. However, HRC offers from Turkey have shown some upward movement, influenced by rising Chinese prices. Turkish FOB prices are now set at $525-540/mt, and, with freight costs of about €15-20/mt, the delivered prices to Romania come to approximately €465-480/mt CFR, up from last week’s €455-470/mt CFR.