Domestic steel prices for hot-rolled sheet in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow went down in the week to Monday July 26, while prices for cold-rolled sheet and steel plate were unchanged, sources told Fastmarkets.
Prices were under pressure from low levels of purchasing activity because buyers were expecting further price reductions, the sources added.
Customers thought that mills would reduce their offers again in August. Suppliers of hot-rolled sheet have been cutting their prices gradually this month in attempts to drive sales, Fastmarkets heard.
The availability of imported cold-rolled coil and steel plate from Kazakhstan and Ukraine at prices lower than those from local mills was one of the drivers for the downtrend, market participants said.
But import trades were rare in the Central Federal District, which is predominantly supplied by local mills, traders said.
Hot-rolled sheet
Trading activity remained very slow, with stockists holding back from...