Domestic hot rolled steel (HRC) prices remained unchanged on Friday, July 31 in both Northern Europe and Italy, while factories were reported to have full order books for the third quarter and are expected to return to the market at a higher level in September. Fastmarkets sources reported on Friday. . . In Northern Europe, market participants reported no significant trading during the day. Factories ,
,They were fully booked until the end of September and offered deliveries in October, the sources said, adding that August was expected to be a difficult month as most German states had summer holidays. Real prices for
Prices were quoted at 710-715 euros (816-821 dollars) per ton from the plant, while initial offers were presented at 730 euros per ton from the plant, but sources said that this level was too high. Buyer
A stated that the market situation is still driven by weak demand. "At the moment, we do not have large volumes that we could order," they added. The second buyer
A said that manufacturers are trying to remove volumes from the market now and will raise prices by 20-25 euros in early September, but added that no one is ready to accept this[increase]. The level for September, as the market and demand are very weak.
Daily hot-rolled steel price index
Calculated by Fastmarkets for the domestic market and exports to Northern Europe, as of July 31, amounted to 711.25 euros per ton, unchanged from July 30.
The index rose by 1.25 euros per tonne week-on-week and amounted to 28.12 euros per tonne on a monthly basis.
In Italy, sources said that factories were mostly absent from the market due to the traditional Ferragosto holiday in August, while demand remained weak. Buyer
A reported that it had purchased HRC at a factory price of 690 euros per tonne about 10 days earlier, but the deal was excluded from the index on July 31 because it was not included in the price window of the valuation.
The same source said that factories had reported full orders for September, but added that they were skeptical about this. This is because "if you request production, it can be delivered within three weeks."
Due to limited supplies on Friday, Fastmarkets' daily domestic hot-rolled steel price index, exw in Italy, was also unchanged at 706.25 euros per tonne per day.
The index rose by 1.87 euros per tonne week-on-week, significantly increasing by 38.75 euros per tonne month-on-month.
Author: Ivelina Nikolova
fastmarkets.com