The domestic price for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the south of Europe has picked up over the past week, supported by production cuts, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 13.
Steel mills in the region continued with their attempts to raise prices further, while bigger Italian buyers returned to purchasing imported material, according to market participants.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic HRC in Southern Europe moved up to ?,?470-490 ($532-554) per tonne ex-works on June 12, compared with ?,?465-480 per tonne ex-works a week earlier.The lower end of the assessment reflected deals and "workable" prices for the material in Italy, although official offers in the country have been heard at ?,?470-495 per tonne ex-works.The upper end of the assessment represented prices in Spain.Prices were expected to recover due to reduced output from mills in Europe. Poor demand was the main driver behind the domestic price decrease in the region earlier this year, and ArcelorMittal has announced two rounds of production cuts to achieve balance between supply and...