One of the three largest flats producers in Russia, Severstal, has lately managed to close its export sales for both hot rolled coil (HRC) and steel slab, supported by the demand coming from the EU and the domestic market for finished steel specifically. Still, customers have not been active enough for the mill to avoid reductions in its prices. In addition, the increased freight and lower euro rate have increased the pressure on the FOB prices.
In the HRC segment, the company overall sold around 130,000 mt of HRC, predominantly to the EU. Severstal’s latest prices for northern Europe were standing at $940-960/mt FOB Baltic region, while for southern Europe the supplier has decreased offers to $820/mt FOB. Buyers from third markets have been willing to accept as low as $780/mt FOB. Overall, since around mid-September, Severstal’s prices for Europe have decreased by $90-120/mt, while the price levels for other markets have dropped by $90/mt over the same period.
In addition, Severstal has closed its slab sales for November production with deals concluded once again mainly to Europe. The latest price was set at $660/mt FOB, down from $700/mt FOB fixed in sales for October production.