In the southern European flat steel market, price increases which had begun with the strengthening of the US dollar against the euro continued last week. Italian steelmaker Ilva lifted up its hot rolled coil (HRC) prices from €480/mt ($639/mt) to the level of €500/mt ($665/mt). In November, southern European buyers accelerated their inventory replenishments from non-EU countries on the back of the favorable exchange rate of the euro against the US dollar.
In the Portuguese flat steel market, buyers have been waiting for flat steel offers from Italy. Depending on the Italian offers, these buyers will prefer to purchase Italian material provided that Spanish offers remain higher than these offers. In Portugal, HRC prices stand at the level of €580/mt ($772/mt). While the base price for hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil of Portuguese steelmaker Lusosider stands at €590/mt ($785/mt), this producer is expected to raise its domestic prices for its January production. Italian offers to Portugal are widely expected to stand at €520/mt ($692/mt) CFR for HRC and at €580-600/mt ($772-799/mt) CFR for CRC and HDG.
Last week, Ukrainian ex-stock HRC offers to Bulgaria were standing at $580-585/mt FOB. Bulgarian buyers are likely to be active in accepting offers in the market this week, while HRC offers from the CIS and Turkey to Bulgaria are also expected to be heard during the week. Turkish flat steel export offers have been seen to rise, in line with prices hikes in the domestic market. Meanwhile, Bulgarian steelmaker Stomana is reported to have almost filled its export order book for its January plate production, selling a significant amount to Europe.
€1 = $1.331