At the end of the first 10 days of the year, the situation in the Italian flat steel market does not appear dissimilar to how it was just before the Christmas holidays: it continues to be characterized by minimal purchase activity. In fact, the forecasts made in the early days of 2013 are worse than those made in the last month of 2012. In addition to the lack of demand, political and financial uncertainty is a significant source of concern.
Taranto-based producer Ilva has not yet restarted production after the holiday and is currently not selling, while the domestic steel producers that have returned from their holiday are giving the same prices as in mid-December. SteelOrbis has learned that current base prices are at around €500/mt ($660/mt) for hot rolled coils (HRC), €550-570/mt ($726-752/mt) for cold rolled coils (CRC) and €550/mt for hot dip galvanized (HDG) coils, all ex-works.
Looking at the international markets, there is a rise in iron ore offers as well as increasing steel prices in China, though coupled with a slowdown in consumption. At the same time, in the US market flat steel prices are weak. Thus, there is some uncertainty around the world and it is hard to make predictions. What is certain, though, is that the New Year has not begun amid optimism and that the first quarter is likely to be "very difficult" as stated by market operators consulted by SteelOrbis.
€1 = $1.32