Italian heavy plate prices are gradually ticking up after declining in July on weak demand and subdued activity, Kallanish hears.
Mill sources report a price recovery and a decent level of sales despite the August break, with central Europe driving demand in recent weeks. Shipment levels have been good and order books are well filled, following a period of relative stagnation at the start of the third quarter.
Import restrictions are removing a significant volume of cheaper material that had been disrupting the market before the new quota regime came into force. Customers are now returning to European suppliers.
Meanwhile, production costs remain elevated, driven by rising energy and slab prices. Slab prices are stable month-on-month at $560-570/tonne cfr depending on quality and volumes.
Italian plate producers are quoting October lead times. Two sources say that while demand is not surging and business is done on a day-to-day basis, they are moderately optimistic about the outlook, and the lower end of the July price range is no longer available.
Values have increased some €30/t since July. Current prices for S275 plate are at €740/t (863.6/t)/t ex-works, while S355 is fetching a premium of about €20/t.
