Russian Steel Prices Rise as Stockpiles Decline, MB Data Show

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Russia’s export steel prices started to recover in January as stockpiles declined, Metal Bulletin data shows.

The price for hot rolled coil, a benchmark, increased for the first time since the end of October. It reached $625 a metric ton last week, compared with a 12-month low of $577 in December. The price peaked at $790 per a ton in February.

"The demand is healthy as steel stockpiles were low and even the European market is feeling better,” Anastasia Gracheva, a Moscow-based UBS analyst, said by phone. She expects prices to climb by as much as 10 percent in the first quarter compared with the end of 2011.