Steel heavy plate domestic prices increased in Northern and Southern Europe in the week to Thursday March 12, with some re-rollers already booked until June, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday.
They linked the rise to the continuing conflict involving Iran, Israel and the US, which began on February 28 and has pushed up steel slab feedstock and natural gas prices.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel slab import, cif Italy was $550-560 per tonne on Thursday, widening upward by $37 from $523-550 per tonne a week earlier.
Southern Europe
Local deals for steel heavy plate in Italy were reported at €700-770 ($803-884) per tonne ex-works. The range is wide because market sources said buyers were trying to secure deals for April at lower prices, but said the latest levels were starting at €750.
Suppliers stepped out of the market on March 5 because of uncertainty over the conflict’s effect on plate production costs and returned on Wednesday, according to market participants.
“We have closed almost all of April [bookings] last week. Before we have stopped sales, most stockists were on the market trying to secure orders at previous prices. The same strong order intake was reported by competitors,” a producer source told Fastmarkets on Thursday, adding that some plate re-rollers were sold out until May or June.
They said €750 increasingly seemed like the new minimum local price, compared with €700-710 a couple of weeks ago, noting that the overall effect on production costs over the past two weeks has been more than €40 per tonne.
Offers for domestic plate in Italy were at €720-780 per tonne ex-works in the week to March 12, increasing after re-rollers returned to the market on Wednesday, a trader said.
A second trader source linked the rise mainly to the conflict in Iran and reduced plate imports, saying demand was still not good. The producer, however, told Fastmarkets they had been seeing stronger demand for plate recently.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe was €730-770 ($706-729) per tonne on Thursday, widening upward by €70 from €700-730 a week earlier.
A producer reported plate imports from South Korea to Spain at €664 per tonne CFR two weeks ago, with offers from Japanese suppliers at similar levels. Other market sources did not report new deals, but said there was plate available in ports.
Plate import activity to Europe has been limited recently because of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)-related costs, which vary by origin and leave buyers uncertain about final pricing.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel plate (8-40mm) import, cfr main port Southern Europe was €650-664 per tonne on Thursday, widening upward by €17 from €647-650 per tonne a week earlier.
Northern Europe
Offers for domestic steel plate in Northern Europe were reported at €720-790 per tonne ex-works, but trading activity was muted.
“Market participants are now waiting for next week to see the new price levels,” the producer said.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe was €740-770 per tonne on Thursday, narrowing upward by €20 from €720-770 per tonne a week earlier.
Regarding imports, market sources said Indian suppliers were offering plate at €625-629 per tonne CFR Antwerp, but nothing was heard from Indonesia or South Korea and no new deals were reported.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel plate (8-40mm) import, cfr main port Northern Europe was €609-650 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged from February 5.
