European heavy plate round-up: Italian plate prices gain as sellers return from holidays with firmer offers

Italian plate prices jumped in the week to 28 August, as market participants began to return from summer holidays to higher price ambitions from domestic steelmakers. 

While market activity is still very limited – expected to recover next week once in the September trading period – initial indications from the Italian heavy plate market were at higher levels, with deals settled at EUR720-730/t ex-works.

The continued availability of these deals was doubted, with sellers reporting new price ideas of EUR740-750/t ex-works for fresh orders. Buy-side sources in fact reported higher indications, expecting offers of EUR750-760/t ex-works Italy once the market fully returns in September.

Italian re-rollers were more sceptical of near-term bullishness in the heavy plate segment than in other steel products – such as hot-rolled coil – due to the visibility of declining slab prices through the summer.

Foreign steelmakers have shifted export strategies toward semi-finished, rather than finished steel goods, due to the relatively unshielded nature of the EU’s semi-finished steel demand in the wake of the EU’s revision to its tariff-rate quota protections, in July. However, recent hikes in raw materials costs mean re-rollers now anticipate higher slab costs in September’s contract negotiations – above most recent offers at $560/t CIF – potentially giving Italian heavy plate sellers better ammunition to convince buyers to pay more.

In Northwest Europe, German mills are well booked from project demand, and so have little allocation available for spot buyers. As such, indications for fresh production, ex-Germany, were commonly reported above the EUR800/t ex-works level on week, with offers to Germany also reported from Italy at EUR780-820/t delivered for s235jr grade, and from Central Europe at EUR830-850/t delivered for s355jr grade.

Author: Benjamin Steven & Maria Tanatar

opisnet.com