EU steel mills raise prices

At the end of July, steel prices began to rise as customers ordered steel to replenish stocks in order to increase supplies after the summer break. Growth in Northern Europe was rather modest, while in Italy and Spain it was more pronounced.

The market was relatively calm in August due to the continued summer vacation. At the beginning of September, activity remains suppressed. As delivery times at EU steel mills are expanding significantly, buyers are considering placing purchase orders in December 2018 /January 2019. They are approaching these discussions amid claims of price increases from metallurgical companies. Since the current stock is high, most buyers delay placing orders. Quite large volumes of imported materials purchased earlier this year are expected to arrive in the next two months. Basic demand is generally healthy.

As steel mills in the EU insist on additional hikes, the price trend is on the rise in the French market. The increase is limited for now, but buyers expect to be forced to pay more for flat products in the fourth trimester. Activity began to slowly resume in early September.

In Italy, the price increases reported in July extended to September. Local and regional businesses continue to cut prices for upcoming deals. Their order books are strong. However, service centers are reporting difficulty selling to their customers at their current high rates, as most end-user sectors are performing poorly. Moreover, distributors have relatively high stocks, so they are in no hurry to replenish their stocks.

In August, a number of UK service centers reported harder work. However, while their resale prices continue to recover, they are not at the required level. The baselines quoted by steelmakers in Europe are higher than July for October /November shipments. Buyers estimate that producers will demand an additional £ 20 per tonne for business in December /January. Within a short period, during the summer, favorable exchange rates resulted in attractive deals with Turkish suppliers.

Baseline values ​​for factories in Belgium strengthened in September. Steelworkers want to raise prices by another 20 euros per tonne in the near future. They claim a shortage of raw materials and limited imports due to political and economic uncertainties.

In Spain, domestic steelmakers secured an increase of € 20 per tonne for November shipments. This is due to the uncertainty of protective measures �