European heavy plate round-up: EU heavy plate sideways, re-rollers fear slab constraints

The European heavy plate markets traded sideways in the week to 30 October. Market participants report stable demand, though cyclical restocking spikes remain yet to be seen.

Northwest European prices are still holding stable, with German mills in particular holding very low spot availability following strong project-based orders in recent months.

Italian mills are reportedly advertising supplies to fill any gaps in Northwest Europe, especially where customers have more immediate material needs than local lead times can accommodate, and can absorb higher transportation costs.

Prices for commodity grade plate in the Italian market are sitting at around EUR750/t ex-works, and s355jr grade was heard offered to Germany on a wide range of EUR860-960/t delivered ex-Italy. Other suppliers in Northwest and Central Europe are offering s355jr plate to Germany at between EUR840-900/t delivered.

Looking forward, Italian re-rollers are fearing slab shortages – a necessary input for their production – and attribute a lack of supply to competing demand from coil consumers, especially now Italy’s last integrated steelmaker, Acciaierie d’Italia, has been ordered to permanently close production by Italy’s highest court. Reported issues with Russian slab supplies are also indirectly affecting availability through alternative semi-finished trade flows, but ultimately Italian re-rollers don’t expect the impact of the shortages to be too significant on their operations.

These slab supply issues are also pushing a Czech re-roller to focus their portfolio on thinner, higher-value plate products, able to secure better margins while consuming smaller slab tonnages.

Author: Benjamin Steven and Maria Tanatar

opisnet.com