Northern European domestic steel heavy plate prices rose in the week to July 23 as German mills remained well booked with project-related orders and offered little spot tonnage, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday. In Italy, prices were stable, with no significant fresh transactions reported during the week.
Italy
Market participants indicated base-grade plate prices in Italy at €700-750 ($796-853) per tonne ex-works on Thursday July 23, with the upper end linked to offer levels.
A trade source said Italian mills were offering plate at €690-700 per tonne ex-works, although these levels were not supported by other market sources.
“For the time being, re-rollers may benefit from competitive slab prices and sufficient tonnages from imports and domestic markets,” the same source said.
A second trader said that Italian mills were selling plate at €710-730 per tonne ex-works into Germany for mid-end September delivery.
The latest transactions for steel plate in Italy were heard at €700-730 per tonne ex-works on July 16, with the lowest price at €700 per tonne ex-works linked to larger-volume orders.
Plate prices in the market have been under pressure in July due to increased competition among producers seeking to secure orders ahead of the August holiday season. Falling slab import prices have also weighed on sentiment.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe was €700-730 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged week on week.
Meanwhile, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel slab, import, cif Italy, was $560-570 per tonne on July 23, down from $570-590 per tonne a week earlier.
Northern Europe
In Northern Europe, German mills were heard to be very well booked with project-related orders, leaving limited volumes available for the spot market, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday.
A trader said spot offers were not available below €820 per tonne ex-works, with the upper end reaching €850-860 per tonne ex-works.
“German mills have booked nice projects and a sizable volume of linepipe orders. Therefore, commodity offers are few; lead time, meanwhile, is end of October, so I see no prices below €820 [per tonne ex-works],” the same source said.
These offers were included in the assessment despite delivery times exceeding Fastmarkets’ methodology window of “up to 6 weeks” because no material was heard available for earlier delivery.
Meanwhile, a second trader reported offers at €765-793 per tonne ex-works, but these levels were not supported by other market participants.
A supplier source said their mills were fully booked for the next two to three months, with prices around €890-900 per tonne ex-works, but mainly including grades for projects rather than commodity plate.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe, was €820-850 per tonne on Thursday, up from €800-830 per tonne a week earlier.
