After a period of decline, Italian plate prices have stabilized, with some demand beginning to resurface. Market participants report that despite the current economic uncertainty, which has led to a cautious approach from customers, there are signs of renewed interest. Large buyers are still purchasing lower volumes than usual, but the market is showing resilience.
Sellers note that the plate market has been negatively influenced by other steel products, creating a significant price gap between S275 grade and hot rolled coil. Currently, Italian sellers are quoting December lead times, with contract prices around €820-830 per tonne for the basic S275 grade and approximately €850 per tonne for the higher 355 grade, which remains in short supply.
Despite a weak year-end sales performance, sellers expect solid results for 2022, surpassing those of 2021, which was a record year. The market is absorbing lower volumes of coil derivatives, but plate sales in 2023 are anticipated to be supported by infrastructure investments financed by the European recovery fund and the growing renewable wind power sector. Meanwhile, merchant slab prices continue to soften, with Russian slab prices correcting down by another $10-20 per tonne.
