One of the largest Russia’s flat steel producers Severstal continues to achieve new highs in its hot rolled coil (HRC) export sales, supported by the sufficient demand coming from Europe.
The supplier has recently fixed the $550/mt FOB Baltic Sea level for big coils in deals to northern Europe. The total sales volume is said to be 15,000-20,000 mt and it is for the end of December- beginning of January production. The previously fixed level, as SteelOrbis reported earlier, was $540-545/mt FOB for the same coil weight. Buyers from southern Europe are also in the market, but the workable price level for Severstal HRC is not yet higher than $545/mt FOB. “A month ago no one wanted to restock for January shipments as they feared Covid-19 impacts. Today, they see that the economies are not going to stop and understand that steel is needed,” a source told SteelOrbis. In addition, Asian suppliers have not been aggressive in the European markets, adding to the limited supply situation. Severstal’s latest price for small coils was at $500-520/mt FOB, but demand has been lower than for big coils.
Other Russian HRC suppliers have been evaluating the market situation and have started to voice offers for January production. Earlier this week, MMK announced $520/mt FOB (up by around $15-20/mt compared to the previous round) or $535/mt CFR Turkey. Today, the producer is giving $525-535/mt FOB, taking into account that some buyers are rather easily consenting to pay $520/mt FOB, SteelOrbis understands. NLMK is silent for now, but is expected to target above $530/mt FOB for January production.
