Hot rolled coil import offers into southern Europe have remained stable during the last two weeks as the euro has failed to strengthen significantly against the dollar, remaining close to parity, Kallanish learns from market sources.

Indian mills continue to be the most competitive in south European markets. Italian traders report offers at as low as €510/tonne ($539) cfr, while in Spain the lowest offers are at €515/t cfr. Turkish importers are some €10/t dearer, sources confirm.

Both in Italy and Spain the stability of import offers has coincided with some small increases in quotes from domestic producers. Italian sources are reporting official offers for HRC at €560/t ex-works base – with transaction prices some €10-20/t below – while in Spain offers stand at as high as €570-580/t ex-works base.

“The current spread between import and domestic prices is convincing buyers to order from abroad,” a trader notes. Another Italian source nevertheless says that large service centres have already ordered most of their requirement for the first part of the year and can take a break from buying now.

Since mid-February the euro/dollar exchange rate has remained at around $1.05 per euro, close to the lowest level registered during the last ten years. This has made import offers less competitive against domestic European mills.