Southern European HRC Steel prices rise to €400 per ton mark

UNITED KINGDOM March 19 2015 4:16 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): Southern European hot rolled cold (HRC) steel prices rose by €5 per ton week-on-week to €400 per ton mark during last week, as per the latest figures released by The Steel Index.

In Italy, market sentiment was affected by the restart of deliveries by Ilva which, according to some market participants, may put pressure on domestic price level in the near future.

Meanwhile, Ilva brought forward to this week closure of the blast furnace N5 for maintenance, which currently provides about 40% of its pig iron output.

Asking prices for HRC from domestic mills in Italy remained in the €390-405 a ton range (exworks), with import offers close to the €380 a ton mark (CFR basis).

In Northern Europe HRC continued to trade between €400-410 a ton range, although more transactions were recorded in the lower end of the range.

(This article is compiled by Vibin Antony on behalf of Scrap Register. Send in your suggestions and comments to editor@scrapregister.com)