Owners could sell Duisburg mill Hüttenwerke-Krupp Mannesmann
Hüttenwerke-Krupp Mannesmann (HKM), the largest mill in the Duisburg steel complex that is partially owned by thyssenkrupp Steel, could be put up for sale, and the first signals have been heard from buyer candidates.
While thyssenkrupp Steel is HKM’s largest stakeholder with 50%, Salzgitter owns 30% and Vallourec 20%. The French pipemaking group’s possible withdrawal has been under discussion for months, after Vallourec closed its last German plant last year. Salzgitter stated in March its interest in taking over Vallourec’s stake.
In addition, tk Steel recently announced it plans a long-term steel capacity reduction at its own plants. Although HKM was not included in that announcement, it appears likely that a separation from HKM would support tk Steel’s restructuring calculations. It would also support the spin-off process of 50% in tk Steel to Czech group EP.
The three stakeholders are now in discussion about selling HKM, following an approach by another interested company. “We do confirm that we have been approached by a prospective buyer. The stakeholders are now in close coordination to test a sale,” tk Steel says in a statement sent to Kallanish upon request. It underlines that the dialogue will not anticipate a particular outcome, and that the companies will consider their responsibility for the workforce.
Christian Koehl Germany
Northwest European plate prices stay low
Observers of the northwest European plate market see little to no cause for an upturn in the summer months. If any price movement has occurred lately, it will have been downward.
In June, “the bottom was reached, so people thought. But no, it still softened a bit further,” a mill group’s manager tells Kallanish. He blames one Italian player, especially, for undercutting prices as they were. The manager admits he had not expected it, as mills were already standing with their backs against the wall. “They [the Italian player] must have some mixed calculation over their product range,” he believes.
According to him, Italian offers of S355 grade plate have undercut the mark of €700/tonne ($758) ex-works, while northwestern integrated mills have gone below the €800/t mark, but are trying to stay above €780/t.
One German buyer who buys strictly from integrated northwestern mills claims that prices remained at a stable low all through June. This could suggest that recent discounts came mostly from re-rollers in other countries.
An Austrian buyer confirms the picture, telling of offers again with lower prices in late June, mainly from Italy. Regarding offers from integrated mills, he does not exclude that some are available at under €770/t, depending on the tonnage.
He finds that plate is the product worst under pressure. “With other products like bar or sections, mills are at least starting to try to obtain better prices; for plate, I do not even see the idea of it,” he notes. He adds he has learned of a number of plate processors in Austria filing for state short working hours support, due to the lack of orders.
Christian Koehl Germany
European HRC prices edge higher amid continuing low demand
Market participants had expected European mills to push for higher prices for September-delivery material – mainly due to the lack of cheap imports since new EU safeguard measures entered into force in July 1.
Even August-delivery material was on offer at slightly higher prices, with some mills aiming for €650 per tonne ex-works.
In Northern Europe, offers were mostly reported at €640-650 (693-704) per tonne ex-works on Monday, sources told Fastmarkets.
But buyers were still reluctant to accept these levels, estimating the tradable level at closer to €620-630 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €633.75 on Monday, up by €2.75 per tonne from €631.00 per tonne on July 5.
The index was up by €5.00 per tonne week on week but remained unchanged month on month.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €626.25 per tonne on Monday, up by €2.15 per tonne from €624.10 per tonne on July 5.
The index was up by €6.25 per tonne week on week, but down by €4.58 per tonne month on month.
In Italy, sources said that HRC was on offer at €640-650 per tonne delivered, which nets back to €630-640 per tonne ex-works.
Some buyers also estimated the tradable price at this level, but most put the workable price at €620-630 per tonne ex-works.
“The market is very quiet,” a buyer source told Fastmarkets, adding that offers from Asia were very scarce.
Many suppliers from Asia exceeded their EU import quotas for the third quarter in the first few days of July.
“Thus, some buyers might decide to custom clear only this part of the already delivered material, for which it will not be necessary to pay duty,” a buyer source said, adding that any further supplies of HRC might remain in stock at customs.
A second buyer source told Fastmarkets that the workable market level for Turkish HRC was still at $580 per tonne FOB, which nets back to €615-620 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty.
Offers from India, Saudi Arabia and South Korea were reported at €600-610 per tonne CFR.
Published by: Darina Kahramanova
