Prices for flat rolled products in the processing industry remained largely stable across Europe in the week to Wednesday, May 14, with local factories focusing on maintaining current price levels rather than raising them, Fastmarkets reported.
Southern Europe
It was known that suppliers in Italy offered hot-dip galvanized coils at a price of 740-750 euros (827-839 dollars) per ton from the factory during the evaluation period.
The estimated market value for buyers is 730-740 euros per ton in stock.
The Spanish suppliers hoped to get even higher prices - 770-785 euros per ton from the factory, but the buyers found these offers impossible.
The lack of real demand from key consumer sectors – the automotive and construction industries – as well as sufficient inventory from buyers did not contribute to further price increases.
"Factories have abandoned the idea of further price increases for[flat steel] [and]. Offers at the price of 800 euros per ton[ex-works]are no longer considered. The mood has soured," said a buyer from Spain.
As a result, Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for hot-dip galvanized steel coils by Yulia Bolotova, David Montagnier
fastmarkets.com
