Posted on 08 Jan 2020
In the first week of back-to-business in the new year, the prevailing although not unanimous sentiment among north-western European coil buyers is that December’s price increases will be sticking.
Of little surprise, the strongest opinion comes from a mill-owned distribution company whose manager says that “… we definitely have a stabilisation in the spot business, and prices are currently trending up.” Others are more conservative, however. “I guess prices will stabilise at the low level we are now,” a German buyer at a smaller distributor says.
“The question now is whether the last few weeks we have only seen an improved apparent demand or if this was improved real demand that will continue in January,” a Benelux buyer tells Kallanish. He notes that December’s price hikes “… have been realised only in those markets where customers needed to buy.” Some say that buying activity was rather sparse in the weeks before Christmas.
This could also mean that many inventories are still “… down to their minimum,” as another German buyer believes, which would certainly indicate an increase in buying and stable, if not rising, prices. Most observers so far have seen a hike of at least €20/t ($22/t) for all product groups. According to a buyer at a fabricator, mill offers even rose by as much as €40/t, “… for those who needed material.” Hot-rolled coil is understood to fetch at least €420 ($468/t). Cold-rolled coil and HDG have surged by the same degree to €520/t and above.
So, as business now wakes up from the winter break, “… I think we will know more at end of January, early February,” the Belgian buyer says.
Source:Kallanish
