May 20, 2011

Spot prices for strip mill products are still falling in northern Europe. While there is a perceived slow improvement in underlying demand, there has been no pronounced seasonal upturn. There is no shortage of cold rolled or coated material. Furthermore, local sellers face competition from producers and importers in the south of the continent. Values for hot rolled coil have decreased less. Availability is tighter, especially for pickled material – still affected by the outage at Tata’s IJmuiden works.

Current market selling figures have been slipping despite producers suggesting that price increases are imminent. The picture will become clearer in June when the mills negotiate their contract for the second half of 2011 with the automotive buyers.

Hot rolled plate values have dropped less then those for strip mill products, especially in the Nordic countries, as the differential between prices in the north and south of Europe widens. The market for higher specification plates is much stronger. Capacity is limited and there have been reports of small price increases.

Long products prices continue to slide, particularly for material produced by scrap-based mills. Although there are various state-backed infrastructure projects in progress, the general pick-up in construction activity, predicted for the spring, has not happened. Moreover, the problems in North Africa have curbed demand there, resulting in plenty of spare rebar being offered by Turkish producers. However, the downward trend in prices is slowing and there are signs of scrap values increasing. Steel prices are expected to remain fairly stable until the end of the summer holidays.

Printed with permission from MEPS.

April 20, 2011

Prices for strip mill products in northern Europe have begun to soften in recent weeks. There had been some speculative buying as selling figures climbed earlier this year but now stock levels are high and customers are more cautious. Buyers of cold rolled coils deduce that mills in the region are not fully booked. Delivery lead times are short. Small tonnages are available from stockists at similar prices to those offered by the producers. Purchasers have been offered attractive selling figures for Asian material but are reluctant to gamble on prices for July/August deliveries

Hot rolled coil is less plentiful. The supply of pickled and oiled steel remains tight following the outage at Tata’s IJmuiden plant. The producer has booked all available toll-pickling capacity in the region. Selling numbers for galvanised sheet have decreased slightly despite decent demand from the German and Swedish automotive sectors.

The market for quarto plate, on the other hand, is still strengthening. Production delays at both SSAB and Rautaruukki are causing shortages of material in the Nordic region, leading to longer delivery lead times and soaring prices.

The trend for long products prices is downward. Selling values for higher specification wire rod are holding up but commodity grades are coming under negative pressure. Demand for sections and rebar is poor, construction activity is slow, inventories are high and the mills have spare capacity. Furthermore, suppliers from Spain are offering low selling figures as they try to replace lost sales to north Africa. However, there are plenty of projects due to start and seasonal factors should start to take effect. There is a perception that lower prices would encourage increased sales volumes.

Posted with permission from MEPS.