EU HRC: Italian mills hold back

Force majeure at ArcelorMittal Italia has other sellers mulling potential hot-rolled coil (HRC) price increases, as some buyers have already cautiously turned to imports to secure supply.

Producers have closed August selling programmes, but an increase is widely expected for September deliveries on limited supply. That said, some buyers — especially small and mid-sized — are postponing purchases until after the summer on concerns that any higher offers will struggle to hold in August as demand remains slow.

Liquidity has been reduced by the summer slowdown, particularly in the north, but some larger Italian buyers have reportedly booked smaller HRC quantities from abroad, despite still abundant supply elsewhere in Europe. Other buyers have rejected higher import offers — one Turkish seller was heard to have lifted its offer to $520/t fob. Smaller bookings to Italy, the Iberian peninsula and the north are understood to have been made from Egypt, India and Taiwan.

ArcelorMittal Italia today said it has reached an agreement with trade unions "to stabilise the situation in Taranto and allow the company to continue operating". It is unclear if the force majeure is still in place.

Liberty Ostrava in the Czech Republic announced today that it is cutting production by 20pc and raising prices across all products by €20/t. Some estimate that this will take 170,000-180,000t of output out until the end of the year. Output reductions, including from ArcelorMittal Poland, which has idled its blast furnace at Krakow, have managed to lift prices in eastern Europe. One seller said sales were made as high as €525/t cpt effective for S235, and a buyer said prices are up by €10-15/t.