Interest in hot rolled coil (HRC) import offers is low in the Italian market and in the European market in general, according to market sources. The price increases announced by European steelmakers and the halving by the the US of the 50 percent duty on imports of Turkish steel have pushed Turkish HRC offers upwards recently.
According to market sources, Turkish offers are now at around $540-550/mt CFR Italy, a price level that "is not working" in the Italian market. Domestic HRC prices in Italy, though increasing, are still more competitive due to shorter lead times. For HRC import offers, on the other hand, shipments are for the end of June or the beginning of July. Meanwhile, the market is still also closed off to Indian mills as their offers are even slightly higher than Turkish offers.