Italian heavy plate prices are largely flat compared to the beginning of May as market participants report weak demand amid uncertainty and high costs, Kallanish hears.
Producers expect prices to rise in the coming months as costs continue to climb amid higher slab prices and CBAM-related charges. Asian slab asking prices are reaching as high as $570/tonne fob, according to sources.
Mills have filled or almost filled June order books and are quoting €800/t ($930.77/t) base ex-works for S275 grade for July delivery. Current contracts remain at €760-770/t base ex-works, while slab contract prices in May reached $600/t cif Italy.
Meanwhile, the northwestern European plate market remains subdued with little transaction activity. One mill representative sees the market mood as especially harsh. “The willingness to buy is trending towards zero,” he says. The prices have not risen much beyond the mark of €800/t delivered for S355, where they already stood in late March, when the upward momentum ran out of previous months ran out (see Kallanish 6 May).
