ArcelorMittal on cusp of another coil price increase

Europe's largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, is on the cusp of announcing another coil price increase in the next few days, market sources told Argus.

While the magnitude of the increase is not clear yet, most expect there to be a €30/t jump in the official hot-rolled coil (HRC) asking price, taking it to €780/t. The offer for hot-dip galvanised will likely increase to more than €900/t.

This is the company's sixth increase announcement since mid-November last year.

The previous announcement, tabled 28 January, was met with skepticism from buyers, given increased import penetration and slower demand. The panic over supply security of recent months had begun to abate somewhat at the end of January, but the announcement did stabilise prices and put a floor under the market.

The expected announcement in the coming days would be well-timed, as import offers have pulled back somewhat on the firmer Asian market. Argus' daily benchmark fob China HRC index has increased from $644/t on 18 February to $680/t today. Mills in India, Russia and elsewhere have increased their asking prices by about €20/t-plus in the past few days.

By Colin Richardson