Following a prolonged absence, Romania's sole flat steel producer, which recently received financial assistance from the government, is anticipated to resume production on April 22, after the Easter holiday. Furthermore, some reports in the market indicate that the sole flat steel producer has started to give offers with deliveries for the end of May. However, many market participants remain skeptical about the comeback and remain unwilling to place orders due to unsuccessful attempts in previous months. Meanwhile, due to the unaltered market outlook over the past week, the majority of Romanian flat steel spot traders have opted to keep their prices stable.
As a result, Romanian traders' prices for hot rolled sheet (HRS) and cold rolled sheet (CRS) have remained unchanged week on week at €725-750/mt ex-warehouse and €835-850/mt ex-warehouse, respectively.
On the other hand, in the import category, there has been no change over the past week in terms of import interest from Romanian buyers. According to reports, ex-Ukraine offers for HRS and CRC have remained stable week on week at €660-670/mt DAP and €750-760/mt DAP, respectively. In contrast, Turkish mills have reduced HRC prices to $575-595/mt, with freight costs of around €25/mt, arriving in Romania at around €535-555/mt CFR, down from €555-565/mt CFR in the previous week.