France

摘要

France is maintaining economic growth more consistently than Germany but its internal coil prices are still lagging by 5-l0/t. HR coil is now up to 270/t (263 dollars/t), CR coil 345/t (336 dollars/t), with coated coil commanding no more than another 5/t. There are early indications that sales of cars and domestic appliances increased in the second quarter. Steelmakers are acting on the assumption that their customers in the French manufacturing sector will benefit most from rising consumer spending, although there is no guarantee of this. Steel buying activity normally slows down in July ahead of the long mid-year holidays, but stock levels in the distribution chain have remained low, as have steel capacity utilisation rates. To some extent Section 201 obstructions counteract these effects. Arcelor has estimated that as a group it will lose 400,000 tonnes of sales in a full year. Some of the group's French plants will benefit from the US government's recent exemption decisions, but these apply mostly to niche products, and will have a marginal effect on other supplies (mainly by diverting a proportion of production resources and capacity). Expectations of rising domestic demand in the second half of the year have led to extended buying activity and forward orders stretching into late September. Mills claim to have achieved higher prices on the most recent forward deals.