What will be the situation of flat rolled markets after holiday?

The activities in the flat rolled market since the beginning of the year have caused market players to count the days for holiday period. The stability in shipbuilding plates still continues. The fact that the fall in Chinese HDG, HRC and CRC prices, as well as the slowdown in global market did not have any affect on shipbuilding market can be explained by the strong demand in this market. Prices of electrical sheet, shipbuilding plates, high-quality galvanized materials and stainless steel products in local Chinese market are firm with stable levels. While demand for these products is strong in local Chinese market, the price decline in HRC, CRC and HDG continues. The lower price levels of galvanized materials have made sales from China to Europe possible. Arcelor, one of the major galvanized material producers in Europe, seems not to be affected from these sales. Price hike expectation regarding ThyssenKrupp materials and the price increases for Arcelor products are two tangible indicators in this regard. Since the galvanized materials shipped from China to Europe are commercial grade, and Arcelor's market share for commercial grade galvanized materials is not big, while the producer aims to raise the quality bar for these products further, China does not look like an important threat against Arcelor's market share for galvanized materials in Europe. The post-holiday revival of the automotive industry will bring activity to European market especially. Even for the time being, the demand for CRC, as well as HDG is strong in European market. With the end of holiday period, which Europe entered in August, and the end of slowdown in August in the household appliances industry, the expected revival in the automotive industry indicates that a general price increase will be observed. The situation in the CIS countries is a bit different from the situation in global market. The fact that maintenance works at Severstal plant and Alchevsk's lines are carried out at a time when Europe is on holiday seems as an opportunity for CIS exports to Europe. The local CIS markets are still active. While export prices indicate a decline, the fact that price levels and demand in local market are still strong stands as an important factor causing CIS producers to supply most of their products to the local market. Especially due to the maintenance works at Alchevsk, Ukrainian steelmaker Ilyich's order book for shipbuilding plates is already full for the next few months. This gives the idea that there will be no decline in shipbuilding plate market in the CIS in the short run. Moreover, as we reported before, no decline in shipbuilding plate market in China is expected in the short term either. The recent increases in the freight rates in certain regions have also caused slight increases in overall prices. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, keeping the end of holiday period in Europe and the global expectations in mind, we may see price increases for the coming period.