Local steel heavy plate prices were unchanged in Italy and Northern Europe in the week to Thursday August 6 due to the summer slowdown, but some fresh import activity was heard in the market, sources told Fastmarkets.
Southern Europe
Deals for domestic base-grade plate in Italy were heard at €690-700 ($796-819) per tonne ex-works as minimum confirmed levels, unchanged from a week earlier. Market participants said the lowest price was €690 per tonne ex-works for 1,000-3,000-tonne orders, describing this level as a “potential price floor.”
“Prices have seemingly bottomed once September sales were completed by most producers,” a mill source said.
The source reported plate offers at €720 per tonne ex-works for the August holiday period. The producer said they did not expect much interest in the coming weeks but were not chasing orders either.
“We are almost out of the market, looking only at projects for the fourth quarter at the moment,” the same source said.
A trade source shared a similar view. “September production in Italy is now largely booked, leaving mills under less pressure to secure additional orders or offer further discounts,” they said.
While Southern European re-rollers were focused on securing bookings in July ahead of the August summer shutdown, they were facing limited order books and reduced their prices to stimulate market activity, the trade source added.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe was €690-710 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged week on week.
Meanwhile, new activity was reported on the plate import side. Sources said Indonesian material for arrival in the fourth quarter of 2026 was sold this week into Spain, with deal levels reported in the range of €770-790 per tonne DDP, which was calculated around €710 per tonne CFR, without additional duties.
Offers into Italy were quoted at $820 per tonne CFR for S275 grades but attracted little to no interest, the trade source said, while a plate producer in the country could not confirm this information.
The corresponding Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel plate (8-40mm), import, cfr main port Southern Europe was €710-750 per tonne on Thursday, widening downward by €10 per tonne from 720-750 per tonne a week earlier.
Northern Europe
Higher offers for local plate in Germany were reported during the week. According to sources, limited supply was the main reason behind this, with two major mills in the country fully booked by the end of the year due to a 250,000-tonne order for a project in the US, leaving only one supplier with capacity for the spot market.
Spot offers were heard at €850-880 per tonne ex-works, while workable prices were indicated at €820-850 per tonne ex-works. Not all sources agreed with those levels, but they said an increase in prices was widely expected.
“German mills have started offering higher prices in the spot market, supported by long-term contracts and project-related deliveries,” a second trade source said.
A Danish mill was heard quoting plate made with Russian slab at €820 per tonne CPT Ruhr area, but market sources could not confirm the ex-works basis price and the level of buying interest for this material.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe was €820-850 per tonne on Thursday, stable week on week.
Regarding plate imports, a deal from India was reported at $720 per tonne CFR. The second trade source said it was “most likely destined for Northern Europe,” but other sources could not confirm the level, and said there were no deliveries to Antwerp recently because “prices were not attractive.”
As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel plate (8-40mm), import, cfr main port Northern Europe was unchanged week on week at €700-750 per tonne on Thursday.
