Prices to start moving up in late February

摘要

Mills’ prices for January production of HR sheets went down by 3%. Atthe beginning of the fourth week of January, Metinvest-SMC loweredprices by another 3%, but largely for February-produced steel.Domestic sheets prices will be primarily influenced by the situation inthe global market. CIS suppliers of HRC started raising prices in thesecond half of January. In February, the trend will be fuelled by a priceincrease in China caused by stimulation of domestic consumption. Someother positive factors include rising raw material quotes and the fact thatFebruary output was sold out fast. Metal Expert predicts FOB HRC priceswill add $15/t in February and $10/t in March. Prices will stabilize in Aprilamid a decrease in Chinese steel quotes. The gap between Februaryprices for HR sheets and export quotes was at the lower end of the normat about $20/t. As a result, further rise in export HRC quotes will resultin a similar increase in domestic prices in March-April.