Italian coil prices tick higher
Coil prices in Italy are seeing a gradual increase, primarily driven by the low volume of import contracts.
According to sources, hot rolled coil values have hit €590-600/tonne ($615-625/t) base delivered. Both buyers and sellers anticipate transactions will reach €620/t base delivered in February, Kallanish hears.
Hot-dipped galvanised coil is at approximately €670-680/t base ex-works on average. Producers are requesting prices in the range of €700-720/t delivered for the commodity grade.
Current lead times are for March and April; however, some quotes are still indicating the end of February.
Cold rolled coil existing contracts are trailing behind at €650-660/t base delivered. Competitive CRC import offers are exerting downward pressure on prices, reportedly in the range of €640-650/t cfr Italy.
One producer tells Kallanish he is asking for €730/t base delivered for HDG and €720/t for CRC. He says he is achieving these levels but only for small orders.
Both buyers and sellers concur that demand has been limited in January, and consumption continues to underperform as volumes are absent. While raising current prices may contribute to revenue, it is insufficient to achieve profitability.
Compared to pre-Covid, the €150/t spread between HRC and HDG is no longer sufficient. Given elevated energy prices and various high production costs, including HRC safeguard duties that steel importing processors have incurred in recent months, HDG levels should be in the range of €770-780/t delivered. However, the market is currently not approaching this benchmark.
“We are making small steps forward with prices. Increases are slow to happen but compared to the figures we had in December, we have achieved much better values considering that demand is at its lowest levels,” a producer comments.
Current demand from eastern Europe is the most robust within the EU; however, enquiries are also emerging from other locations, including Spain, France, and notably Germany, following a long absence, two sellers agree.
Italian demand appears to be subdued, as buyers acquired significant volumes both in the domestic market and through imports during November.
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Prices for European CRC, HDG slide on weak demand
For cold-rolled coil, producers were avoiding giving firm offers, because they were unable to compete with much cheaper imports, several sources said.
“Energy costs remain quite high again across Europe, and annealing [the heat treatment procedure for CRC production] is very energy-intensive,” a mill source in Europe said.
“CRC is normally a product coming from Northern EU mills to Italy and [Northern EU mills] are not interested in supplying Southern EU/Italy at competitive prices,” a distributor said.
Buyers estimated tradable prices for CRC in Southern Europe at €800-820 ($860-881) per tonne ex-works.
Offers were reported around €840-850 per tonne delivered (€825-835 per tonne ex-works).
As a result, Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil domestic, ex-works Southern Europe was €810-825 per tonne on Wednesday, down by €15-20 per tonne week on week from €830-840 per tonne.
Sources said that competitive offers from overseas suppliers were also dragging European prices downward. Transaction for South Korea- and Taiwan-origin CRC with April shipment was reported at €740-750 per tonne CFR to Southern Europe in early February.
During the assessment week, the import market was quiet due to Lunar New Year celebrations in Asia.
HDG
Competition from imports was less intense in HDG market because overseas mills were unable to supply the full range of grades and dimensions required by European buyers, Fastmarkets understands.
However, slow real demand was pushing prices down, source said.
Southern European producers were heard to have reduced offer prices to €850-860 per tonne per tonne ex-works for HDG, in comparison with the €880 per tonne ex-works reported in January.
Most suppliers could still offer April-delivery HDG, which indicated weak order books, sources suggested.
Buyer’s estimation of tradeable values for HDG was no higher than €860-870 base delivered (€845-855 per tonne ex-works)
As a result, Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil domestic, ex-works Southern Europe was €845-855 per tonne on Wednesday, down by €15 per tonne from €860-870 per tonne seven days ago.
Overseas HDG offers to Europe were rare due to Lunar New Year celebrations in Asia.
The most recent offers from Vietnamese suppliers for 0.5mm HDG with Z100 coating were said to be aiming for $880-890 per tonne CFR to Southern
Europe. However, due to a persistent downtrend in global HRC markets, most sources expect Vietnamese suppliers to return with lower offers next week.
Summer demand slump downs Turkey’s coated steel prices
Turkey’s coated flat steel market experienced reduced activity on Monday, with prices slightly down due to sluggish demand both domestically and in export markets amid the ongoing holiday season, market participants inform Kallanish.
Availability of September-shipment coated steel from domestic mills exerted some pressure on prices. However, this situation was anticipated and therefore the impact on prices was limited.
On exports, some producers expected increased demand for Turkey-origin coated steel from Ukraine, whose buyers will use this to substitute for China-origin supply after Ukraine imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on Chinese product effective 12 August.
Turkish domestic prices
| Product | Price, ex-works, cash | W-o-w change, $/t |
| CRC 1 mm | $760-800/t | -20/+10 |
| HDG 0.50mm Z60 | $830-855/t | 0/-15 |
| HDG 0.50mm Z100 | $830-875/t | 0/-15 |
| PPGI 0.50mm Ral 9002 5+15 | $925-980/t | 0/-10 |
| HDG 2.00mm Z60 | $760-800/t | -10-15 |
Source: Kallanish market survey
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