Prices for sections in Germany and neighbouring countries are now seen stabilising, following recent small decreases, ahead of the upcoming summer pauses at the mills.
Many players in May had predicted that prices will reach and potentially surpass €850/tonne ($974) delivered for category 1 sections, but were proven wrong. Instead, prices saw softened slightly by €10-20/t, and are now in the range of €820-830/t from domestic mills. Offers from Spain or Poland can be even closer to the €800/t mark, one buyer notes.
In April and May, distributors reported some shortage of sections categories 1-3, which encouraged mills to seek higher prices.
According to one manager, this was partly caused by high temporary order activity from the UK, which has now expired. Also, technical problems at a Benelux mill that have been an issue since last autumn have meanwhile been overcome.
“Several factors played a role but have disappeared now, so that the supply capacity returned to normal, and mills had to revert offers by €10-20/t in the meantime,” he tells Kallanish.
Going forward, noteworthy moves are expected before the summer breaks at mills. According to observers, one German mill will take its two-week maintenance break in early July, and another mill later that month. “And once they are back on stream, the Italians will take their breaks, and so will the Luxembourgers and the Polish.”
For the remaining weeks of operation, “mills are pretty well utilised, also with deliveries as far as Canada and the USA,” one observer notes. The next noteworthy trend of prices will not show before September, he says.
Author: Christian Koehl
