Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) dropped in Southern Europe due to slow trading, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic HRC in Southern Europe was ?,?460-480 ($520-542) per tonne ex-works on Wednesday March 27, down from ?,?480-490 per tonne ex-works a week earlier. Italian steelmakers were reported to offer HRC at ?,?460-465 per tonne ex-works to bigger buyers, while smaller distributors were reported to receive prices of ?,?465-475 per tonne ex-works. The upper end of the assessment represented prices in Spain. The price started to fall in Italy after the country's electric arc furnace (EAF) operator Arvedi decreased its prices, according to market sources. "Arvedi was hungry for new orders so it moved prices down to get deals in a slow market, dragging prices down," an Italian trader said. Domestic prices have been under pressure because end users had not been ready to accept prices at previous levels, according to market sources. "Prices for processed flat steel prices are under pressure in March as end...