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Quiet market conditions limit Steel price rises in Northern Europe: MEPS

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LONDON (Scrap Register): The mills have struggled to implement advances for strip mill products across the Nordic region. Nevertheless, small increments were achieved in some countries, said MEPS International.

According to MEPS, hot rolled coil producers are likely to seek further advances before the end of the year. However, market participants do not anticipate any significant change in the short term. Consumption in the cold rolled coil market is weak. Supply of this product remains plentiful in Western Europe. Sales of galvanised material to the automotive and equipment manufacturers are healthy. A lack of third country imports has helped to maintain price levels.

Commodity plate re-rollers, selling in northern Europe, are having difficulty sourcing slab feedstock from Ukraine, due to the unrest in the region. With supply tightened, demand has been sufficient to sustain an increase in most of the countries surveyed. In Norway, investment in the offshore oil and gas industries has slowed, for the moment, MEPS reported.

The market for drawing quality wire rod has been subdued since the summer vacation period. There has been no seasonal upturn in sales tonnages. Selling figures remain flat. Consumption of structural sections by the building industry is good. Moreover, scrap values strengthened, during the summer, and this is now being passed on to customers.

Demand for rebar remains average for this time of year. However, increased input costs enabled the mills to achieve small advances in some countries. Infrastructure investment in Finland and Norway is upbeat. Sales volumes of merchant bar are below expectations. An increase in size extras, initiated by Beltrame, then followed by other producers, has resulted in a rise of around €10 per ton in transaction values.

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