NW Europe rebar prices stable, demand low and outlook down

In the northwest European market this week began with rebar price offers unchanged from last week. Buyers are mainly holding off because the sentiment is for prices to move down in the coming days if it is confirmed that February scrap contract prices will decline by around €10/metric ton in Germany and southern Europe.

For the moment mills are keeping their offers unchanged, but are starting to feel the pressure of poor demand. In addition, the strength of the euro means European mills are facing stronger competition from Turkish rivals in their export markets, causing them to decrease their fob offers. “South European mills are offering officially at €490/mt fob, but in reality they have already lowered their prices to €480/mt fob to be competitive, putting pressure on the central and northwest producers as well”, a Swiss based trader said. “Overall the long market is in decreasing trend, with Turkish mills having already lowered their prices”, he added.

In some European markets rebar already decreased last week. “We buy mainly from Eastern Europe. Polish rebar asked for prices up for February because they have margins squeezed, but we don’t accept that. We saw on the other hand that in Norway prices already dropped by €10/mt”, a large European buyer said.

“Prices are stable, but firms are nervous. We didn’t see any imports coming in to Europe yet, but of course the strength of the euro is putting the European exporting mills in difficulty domestically too, putting pressure on their domestic prices”, a Belgian stockholder said.

In Benelux prices are reported to be around €520-530/mt delivered, and in Germany €525-530/mt delivered with imports from Eastern Europe at around €500-510/mt delivered.

Indian HDG export prices stable, outlook mixed

Export prices of Indian hot-dip galvanized coils remained stable over the past week. But sources surveyed by Platts Monday held a mixed outlook for coming weeks. Some reckoned exporters would lift offer prices on the back of a stronger rupee but others countered that sluggish overseas demand could pressure prices downwards.

Transaction prices of 0.3mm thick soft coils with 90 grams/square meter zinc coating averaged $850-860/metric ton CFR USA last week, unchanged from late-December. “But now it is getting difficult to close deals even at these levels,” a Mumbai-based trader said. “I think (Indian) mills will consider lowering their prices now,” he added.

Another Mumbai-based trader said that exporters were under pressure from the rupee, the Indian currency having appreciated 4% versus the dollar over the past month. “I think mills would attempt a $25/mt increase, but this would make their offers unattractive,” he said. The rupee had topped 55 to the US dollar in early January but stood at 52.9 by press-time Monday.

Sources also noted that overseas buyers had largely resisted the price hikes attempted by Indian exporters last month. Indian offer prices rose by $10-15/mt through January to average $870-880/mt CFR USA, but transaction prices changed little.

Producers were yet to decide on their new export offers. A Mumbai-based mill official said his company was holding on to its present offer prices of $870-880/mt CFR USA. Another Mumbai-based mill official reckoned a price hike was inadvisable. “We haven’t been able to book a single order from the USA of late,” he said. He noted, however, that a favorable euro/dollar exchange rate rendered Europe an attractive market for Indian exporters.

Hikes for CIS coils exports to be revealed this week

The CIS steelmakers are strongly expected to be back in the market this week pushing for higher prices in their export offers for March production of hot and cold rolled coils, Platts heard in the market yesterday.

“The big improvement” in the euro/dollar exchange rate should continue being favourable for the CIS exporters in their February bookings with European buyers, a source in a Russian mill commented. He believed the upswing in prices is possible thanks to “restocking and speculation rather than underlying end-user demand”.

“We are expecting to see new offers tomorrow or later this week”, a major trader said yesterday. He estimated the prices would be averaging $20-30/metric ton higher than in January. Sources in the mills including MMK, NLMK and Metinvest confirmed this outlook. “If Novolipetsk and Severstal are taking active positions this week then we should follow shortly”, a source at Metinvest commented.

NLMK is going to push for $10-30/mt hikes for its March rolling, April shipment material compared with last month’s deals, a source close to the mill told Platts. The export sales of NLMK's February output were concluded at $600-610/mt for HRC and $690-710/mt for CRC, both FOB Black Sea, Platts learnt.

Market sources were unable to give a clear direction for prices in the coming months. One producer believed the prices for flat products should stay on the upturn in short term with greater potential in slabs than coils.

Chinese domestic HRC prices up further, exports quiet

Domestic hot rolled coil prices in the Shanghai and Guangdong Lecong dealer markets inched up further on Monday after last week’s climbs, sources in both markets confirmed. But as more market participants have halted their business for Spring Festival holidays, transactions have become even more sparse this week.

On Monday, some trading companies in Shanghai and Lecong had already closed their doors for the break. Other traders who were still working raised their offer prices to Yuan 4,200-4,220/metric ton ($674-677/mt) with 17% VAT in Shanghai and Yuan 4,250-4,300/mt with VAT in Lecong, both up by around Yuan 20/mt from last Friday.

However, market sources contacted by Platts said traders who were determined to strike deals this week were prepared to discount, which resulted in a few deals closed at or a little below Yuan 4,200/mt in Shanghai and Yuan 4,250/mt in Lecong.

As the week-long holidays will officially begin this Saturday, more and more traders and dealers will close their offices in the coming few days and keep their HRC prices pegged at current levels.

China’s HRC export market is also winding down with the approach of the holidays. Offer prices for Chinese 3mm-and-up SS400B HRC remained at around $605-615/mt FOB with very few takers.

One exporter told Platts that he closed a small deal at around $610/mt FOB last Friday. However, he said the volume was less than 2,000 mt, which was too small to represent a market trend. He added that in general it had been quite difficult to persuade buyers to accept current prices.

Peru's Aceros Arequipa delays new rolling mill start to May

Initially planned to start operations early this year, the new 650,000 mt/year rolling mill being built by longs maker Peruvian Aceros Arequipa at its Pisco plant will now be operational beginning in May, the company announced in its Q4 2012 financial report.

"Additional purchases of rolled products in order to meet the growth of the domestic steel market, as well as purchases of billets dedicated to the initial inventory for the launch of the new rolling mill, which will be completed in May 2013, contributed to the elevation of expenses," the company said.

The initial budget for the project was $100 million, but now the company expects to spend $125 million on the rolling mill.

According to investment figures disclosed by the company, $119 million has already been spent on the new rolling mill. This corresponds to "investments in construction and [purchases] of parts and pieces of the machinery we will install," stated Aceros Arequipa.

Last October, a well-placed source from the steelmaker told Platts that the new equipment would begin operating in February. According to the executive, it will be focused on long products - "mainly rebar, but we are also considering producing profiles." There was also the possibility of introducing a new furnace at the plant.

The new rolling mill will increase the Pisco mill's longs output to 1.1 million mt/year. The company also has a 250,000 mt/year unit at Arequipa.

Chinese domestic CRC stocks up as transactions slow

In spite of slowing transactions on the domestic spot market due to approaching Spring Festival holidays, Chinese cold rolled coil prices have increased from last week due to rising hot rolled coil and in anticipation of a demand pick-up after the holidays.

On Monday, prices of SPCC 1.0mm CRC were prevailing at Yuan 4,750-4,800/metric ton ($762-770/mt) with 17% VAT in Shanghai and Yuan 4,700-4,750/mt with VAT in Lecong, up Yuan 75/mt and Yuan 85/mt from early last week.

Some traders told Platts that market participants had gradually ceased trading since late last week for holidays, so the current price rises were mainly caused by expectation of strong market after holidays.

Given the slow market, CRC market inventories have also swelled recently. According to a Lecong-based trader, local CRC inventories increased by 14,000 mt over the past week to 815,000 mt.

Indian HRC producers lift base prices by Rupee 1,000/mt

Indian hot rolled coil producers have announced increases of up to Rupees 1,000/metric ton ($19/mt) in their base prices this month in line with rising input costs, market sources said Monday.

JSW Steel has announced an increase of “almost Rupees 1,000/mt”, a company official based in Mumbai said. The firm is now offering IS 2062 grade A/B structural HRC, 3mm thick and above, at Rupees 35,000/mt ($660/mt) ex-works Vijayanagar. Though pressure from sluggish demand and tight liquidity persists in the domestic market, Indian coil prices remained below international levels, the official said. “There is no reason for (domestic) customers not to accept the price hike. Importing is not an option now,” he said.

Transaction prices for IS 2062 grade A/B structural HRC, 3mm thick and above, had averaged Rupees 33,500-34,000/mt ($632-642/mt) ex-works through January. This is equivalent to an import parity of $588-597/mt CFR Mumbai, at a 7.5% import tariff. Import offers from various sources presently top $640/mt CFR Mumbai [see related story].

“Traditionally this kind of gap has not existed,” the official said. “Historically, domestic prices have commanded a premium over import prices,” he said, noting there had been a reversal of trends only over the past two months.

Another leading western Indian integrated mill has lifted its base price by Rupees 800-1,000/mt to Rupees 34,000-34,500/mt, a Mumbai-based company official said. “There is no adverse reaction yet from customers,” he said.

Some sources however suspected mills would soften their stance in coming days. “Producers are starting with an increase of Rupees 1,000/mt but they will settle for anything in the Rupees 500-1,000/mt range,” a Mumbai-based trader reckoned.

Korean mills tipped to increase hot coil prices

Korea’s hot rolled coil market is trending upwards as the nation’s three HRC producers – Posco, Hyundai Steel and Dongbu Steel – seem determined to lift their sales prices to offset higher input costs.

Posco, the country’s largest HRC producer, is requesting a hike of Won 50,000/metric ton ($46/mt) from re-rollers, market sources said. As Platts previously reported, Posco CEO Chung Joon-yang said at his company’s 2012 business results presentation late last month that Posco was negotiating with retailers and other major consumers to accept higher HRC prices, and the results would be known within this month.

Other HRC producers are also considering adding Won 20,000-30,000/mt to their prices although specific effective dates are yet to be confirmed, according to industry sources. The upturn in Chinese HRC export prices to Korea and firmer iron ore prices were among the major factors that formed the Korean mills’ price strategies, market sources said.

“However, the end user sectors are still in a bad shape so they are refusing to pay high prices; in fact they are rather asking for price reductions,” a mill source told Platts. With the Lunar New Year holidays approaching, identifying the market’s direction as of now is difficult, he added.

“Steelmakers are most likely to push their higher prices right after the holidays,” a retailer noted. “However, we don’t see any speculative purchases ahead of a possible price hike in the market.”

Local dealers' retail prices for Posco-origin 3.0mm thick SS400 commodity grade HRC were pegged at around Won 780,000-800,000/mt ($711-730/mt) as of Monday.

Indian coil importers foresee quiet month despite rupee gain

The quietness in the Indian hot rolled coil import market seen since end-October could persist this month as international prices remain unattractively high compared to domestic equivalents, sources said Monday. Some sources also suspected that sluggish demand in both overseas and domestic markets could propel prices downward in coming months.

Although import offers were sparse, Indian sources pegged offer prices of Japanese- and Korean-origin re-rolling grade SAE1006 HRC, 2mm and above, at $650-660/metric ton CFR Mumbai. Chinese offers for SS400 boron-added commercial-grade HRC, 3mm thick and above, were reported to average $640/mt CFR Mumbai.

Indian transaction prices for IS 2062 grade A/B structural HRC, 3mm thick and above, had averaged Rupees 33,500-34,000/mt ($632-642/mt) ex-works through January. This translates to an import parity of $588-597/mt CFR Mumbai, at a 7.5% import tariff. Indian producers have also increased their base prices by Rupees 1,000/mt ($19/mt) this month [see related story].

“People are just trying to lift prices everywhere,” a Mumbai-based trader said. “They usually get away with this at the start of the year, but I think prices will start to fall from March.”

There are few import arrivals scheduled in coming months as bookings had thinned since end-October on a weak rupee and higher international prices. Sources also shrugged off the recent appreciation of the rupee as not alarming, noting that import cargoes booked now would take several weeks to arrive. “Who knows? Prices everywhere would have collapsed by then,” a Mumbai-based mill official said.

The rupee topped 55 to the dollar in early January but gained over the past fortnight to 52.9 by press-time Monday.

Posco to appeal charges of price-fixing for galv sheet

Posco says it will appeal a huge Won 89.4 billion ($81.7 million) fine imposed by Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) late last month for fixing domestic prices of coated sheets, a spokesman for the country’s largest steel producer said Monday. “We did not collude to control prices and we will prove this through administrative means,” he said.

Posco was one of six companies the FTC had decided on January 30 had earlier colluded to decide the price of galvanized sheets and on which it imposed fines. The five others, all re-rollers, were Dongbu Steel, Hyundai Hysco, Union Steel Manufacturing, Posco Coated & Color Steel (Posco C&C) and SeAH Steel.

“The findings for the remaining products such as cold rolled coil and color-coated sheet are now being processed,” an FTC source said.

The steelmakers can appeal the FTC’s findings within 30 days, failing which they must pay their fines within 60 days, the FTC source added.

The FTC claimed that in parallel with Posco's price policy, Dongbu, Hysco and Union Steel colluded to set galv sheet prices on ten occasions between February 2005 and May 2010; Posco C&C joined in during March 2005-August 2008, and SeAH from October 2005 to May 2010, according to an earlier FTC report.

The FTC also claimed that the steelmakers indirectly used a zinc surcharge system to lift galv sheet prices from February 2006.

N. China's rebar price rising, but few transactions

Northern China’s rebar prices continued to trend upwards Monday, in line with stronger futures prices and firm iron ore prices. The widely-traded May rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange further increased by 1.27% to close at Yuan 4,221/metric ton on February 4.

On Beijing’s dealer market, spot offers for 18-25mm diameter HRB400 rebar sourced from Hebei Iron & Steel (Hegang) increased by Yuan 40-50/mt ($6-8/mt) to about Yuan 3,760-3,770/mt ($603-605/mt) with 17% VAT. Prices have now returned to the levels recorded in early January after dipping to Yuan 3,660-3,670/mt in late January, Platts notes.

But despite further price increases, few transactions were heard made at the beginning of the last week before Chinese New Year (with official holidays on February 9-15). Market sources pointed out that few companies remained open for business Monday, and even the few that still stayed in the market were not pushing hard to make any deals, as employees were preparing to leave for the holiday.

A local trader suggested that it did not make any difference what offers one posted now, since hardly anyone was looking to buy at this moment. Meanwhile, because general expectations were pointing to stronger steel prices after the Chinese New Year, major dealers were in no rush to sell at lower prices, and were keeping their prices high for post-holiday sales.

China's 18-25mm HRB400 rebar price ©SBB 2013 Yuan/metric ton
	Incl. 17% VAT	Excl. 17% VAT
Beijing	3,760-3,770	3,214-3,222

Zenith Steel to lift output by almost 50% for 2013

Zenith Steel Group, a top-tier privately-owned steel mill in east China’s Jiangsu province, aims to lift its crude steel output by 49% year-on-year this year to 11.3 million metric tons, a company spokesperson confirmed Monday.

Behind the steelmaker’s decision is its strong belief that domestic and overseas steel markets are improving, he explained, adding that the company also aims to lift the proportion of special steel – including high-strength wire rod and round bars – to 70% from last year’s 50%.

Last year, the longs maker produced 7.6 million mt of crude steel and 7.2 million mt of finished steel.

At the same time, Zenith aims to export 1 million mt of special steel, mainly to the countries of Asean but also Africa and the Americas, the official said.

Headquartered in Changzhou city, Jiangsu, Zenith completed an expansion of its crude steel capacity last year that saw a series of technical upgrades take this to 12 million mt/year from the previous 7 million mt/year.

China’s TPCO sees record seamless pipe output in 2012

China’s largest seamless pipe producer Tianjin Pipe (Group) Corp (TPCO) saw its seamless pipe output reach a record high of 3 million metric tons last year, up 3% year-on-year, supported by buoyant demand from the oil and gas industry, Platts learned from the company.

The increase in pipe production was mainly attributed to increasing sales to the energy sector both in China and overseas, a company source said. Demand for pipes used in other industries remained lackluster amid economic uncertainty last year, he added.

TPCO is the country's largest seamless pipe maker and top oil country tubular goods maker. Located in northern China’s Tianjin municipality, it produced some 1.35 million mt of casings last year, up about 7% on 2011. Its total seamless pipe exports increased by 10% y-o-y in 2012.

The company’s high-specification products advanced notably last year, driven by increasing exploration of wells with complex conditions. Output of the high-grade TP-series OCTG was up 25% y-o-y, while output of its premium connection products surged by 63% from 2011. The TPCO source declined to reveal the actual tonnages of these two product types, however.

TPCO’s seamless pipe capacity has increased to 3.5m mt/year after Jiangsu Tianhuai Steel Pipe (Tianhuai), in which TPCO holds a 60% stake, was commissioned last May in eastern China. Tianhuai’s output remains low as it gradually builds up to its designed capacity, Platts is told.

Subscriber note: Platts to publish iron ore lump premiums

Following industry feedback, Platts proposes to launch from March 1, 2013, contract price premiums agreed between suppliers and Chinese steelmakers for Australian lump iron ore. The lump premium would be published quarterly, in line with the frequency of most extant agreements between producers and consumers.

The lump premium would be published on a dollar per dry metric ton unit basis, and would represent the most commonly traded brands like Pilbara Blend, Mining Area C and Newman lump.

Platts is inviting feedback on its plan to publish the premiums that it understands most Chinese mills have agreed. Premiums that are settled under known, special circumstances, would be reported in news articles, but would be excluded from the published premium.

The proposed lump premium would be published in a range. For example, for the first quarter of 2013, the range would be $0.115-0.116/dmtu, as per Platts December 21 2012 report on the matter. Lower contract price premiums of $0.10-0.110/dmtu were obtained by one particular buyer, but they would not be reflected as they may not be representative of the prices reached with the broader market.

The lump premium would be published in Platts SBB Steel Markets Daily, Platts Metals Alert and the Platts SBB Price Analyzer. It would supersede the SBB Hamersley Pilbara Blend Lump 63.5% Fe FOB W. Australia Port (SB01111) assessment in the Platts SBB Steel Price Analyzer, which is a quarterly calculation of the price of lump based on the price of fines and the lump premium.

Separately, due to there being limited liquidity in the spot market for lump, Platts continues to review the feasibility of publishing a spot price assessment for it, and invites industry feedback on the matter.

Please address any feedback or questions by February 22, 2013, to Keith Tan, keith_tan@platts.com with a copy to iodex@platts.com and pricegroup@platts.com .

Tokyo Steel Kyushu in maintenance after accident

The Kyushu works of mini-mill Tokyo Steel Manufacturing began regular maintenance Monday as investigations into last week’s fatal accident were still being completed, a company spokesman said on February 4.

Melting and rolling operations at the works in Kitakyushu in the island’s north-west will stop until Friday, as originally planned. “We stockpiled materials ahead of the shutdown so sales to customers won’t be affected,” he told Platts.

However, the company has been forced to make those stocks last longer than initially planned, following last Tuesday’s steel shop accident at the works that claimed the life of a senior supervisor and obliged the company to halt melting, as Platts reported.

Though Kyushu police and fire officials have completed their investigations, approval to restart operations was delayed, leading Tokyo Steel to decide to make the shutdown part of the planned maintenance stoppage.

The Kyushu works has a 130-metric ton direct current electric arc furnace and produces mainly plates and H-beams. It produced 47,000 mt of crude steel in December.

Meanwhile, on Monday Tokyo Steel also halted melting and rolling at its Okayama works in western Japan for regular maintenance, also until Friday. Okayama produces hot rolled coils, H-beams and rebars and produced 57,000 mt of raw steel in December.

Japan’s 2012 steel imports dip

The strong Japanese currency throughout much of last year ensured that steel imports remained attractive, with the overall total declining by only 3.1% from 2011’s all-time-high to 8.04 million mt, data tabled Friday revealed.

Within the total, imports of carbon steel dipped just 0.5% from 2011 to 4.46 million mt, the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) report showed. Imports accounted for about 10% of Japan’s total domestic carbon steel demand last year of about 43.3 million mt.

For much of last year the Japanese yen traded in a band of Yen 76.5-82.5=US$1which made dollar-denominated steel imports comparatively cheap, a JISF official said. On Monday the yen was trading at Yen 92.2=$1. “If the yen continues weakening this year, imports could likely continue declining,” he told Platts.

The totals held few surprises. Korea and Taiwan continued to dominate Japan’s import hot rolled coil market though volumes changed little year-on-year. China’s HRC exports to Japan plummeted to just 82,400 mt, a 30% slide from 2011. Anshan Iron & Steel is the only Chinese mill regularly exporting HRC to Japan.

Japan’s heavy plate imports grew by nearly 10% to 513,200 mt, nearly 450,000 mt of which came from Korea, a 22% jump from 2011.

The most significant development last year was a 74% jump in Japan’s specialty steel imports to 367,600 mt. Within this, 279,000 mt came from China, a two-fold increase. The JISF says almost all of this was spring steel. Also, a 30% jump in Korean welded tube exports – to 124,800 mt – saw Japan’s total welded tube imports climb 22% to 153,330 mt.

Japan's 2012 steel imports (selected)   Metric tons. Source: JISF
	2012	Change y-o-y
Semis	274,876	33.4%
Wire rods	250,296	-13.8%
Heavy plates	513,161	9.6%
HRC	1,735,894	-2.2%
CRC	933,314	4.6%
Galv	564,129	-0.7%
Stainless	173,454	-8.4%
Grand total	8,039,754	-3.1%

China's SGIS Songshan risks de-listing after 2012 losses

SGIS Songshan (SGSS), the Shenzhen-listed arm of Guangdong Shaoguan Iron & Steel Group (Shaogang), reported losses for the second year in a row in 2012 and has been degraded to a “*ST” category stock, a warning to investors that the company could face suspension of trading or de-listing should it continue to post losses.

SGSS incurred a loss of Yuan 1.95 billion ($313 million) in 2012, down by 71.46% from 2011’s Yuan 1.14 billion loss. The company made a profit of Yuan 22 million in 2010. The company noted that steel prices dropped significantly in the second and third quarters of 2012, because of the economic slowdown and tightened credit. Although steel prices rebounded in the last quarter, raw material prices surged, capping mills’ profits. Some 29% of China Iron & Steel Association (CISA)’s member mills reported losses for 2012.

The infrastructure and real estate sectors contracted last year, preventing SGSS from meeting production targets. SGSS had aimed to produce 6.3 million metric tons of crude steel and 6 million mt of finished steel last year, but only achieved 5.5 million mt and 5.36 million mt respectively. Bar and rebar volumes increased marginally but plate and wire rod volumes fell.

SGSS expected a stronger 2013 than 2012, as railway and urbanization projects move forwards. It hopes to make 6.4 million mt of crude steel and 6.15 million mt of finished steel in 2013. It expects to up non-commercial bar output by about 700,000 mt this year, with one new bar mill brought on-stream in late 2012, and another to start operation in March. Combined capacity of the two mills is around 1.13 million mt/year.

UK Mir Steel HRC output might stop on lack of slabs: sources

Sources in the UK hot rolled coil market reported Monday that Mir Steel, the Newport-based re-roller, is expected to stop receiving slabs from the Russian producer, Mechel, with which the company has had a supply agreement since 2010.

It is understood that Mir Steel, which can produce up to 1 million metric tons/year of HRC, is currently rolling the slabs it has in stock and receiving the last shipments of the orders made in Q4 2012, but new orders will not be signed between the two companies, Platts sources said.

One major stockholder in the country said that this should lead to a lack of HRC in the UK market in March-April. Even if Mir Steel achieves an agreement with another slab supplier, it would leave a period of lack of supply, he added. Sources in the market mentioned slab producer SSI UK in Redcar, northeastern England, as a possible supplier for the re-roller.

Another source noted that Mechel Service UK, which has been selling all Mir Steel production up to now, will look for alternative supplies of HRC for the UK market. Mechel Service UK is the second largest supplier of HRC in the domestic market, after Tata Steel.

The management of Mir Steel did not wish to comment on these reports when contacted by Platts, while Mechel’s press department affirmed that “supplies are on-going”. Mechel announced in Q4 2012 the intention to divest the non-Russian steel assets, putting up for sale its trading and distribution arm Mechel Service in Europe.

Meanwhile the UK market is reporting HRC transaction at the end of last week being at £435/metric ton DDP, with new offers this week from suppliers verging toward £445/mt DDP despite some resistance from the market and other suppliers.

Belgium appoints consultant for sale of ArcelorMittal units

The economy minister of southern Belgium’s Walloon region, Jean-Claude Marcourt, confirmed last week that the local government appointed a bank and a consultancy firm, Roland Berger, to assist the local authorities in their plan to find a new owner for the rolling mills and coating lines around Liège that ArcelorMittal permanently decided to shut in mid-January.

The announcement comes despite ArcelorMittal declaring to the local press that the units are not for sale. The company did not wish to comment on the Belgian intention of finding a buyer for the units when contacted by Platts on Monday.

In 2012 the French government also tried to find a buyer for some of ArcelorMittal’s assets in Florange, but was not successful. The company first denied the intention to sell any part of the Florange mill, before finding an agreement with the French government and accepting to allow it to look for a buyer.

Marcourt added last week, answering to objections regarding the fact ArcelorMittal is not willing to sell the assets, that he is convinced the local authorities can put pressure on ArcelorMittal to change its current position.

HRC exports from Turkey fall significantly in 2012

Turkey’s hot rolled coil exports were down 39% year-on-year in 2012 to 1.03 million metric tons. In 2011 this figure was 1.67 million mt, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). Slab output was down 9% to 8.8 million mt in 2012, as reported.

A market specialist attributed the decline in HRC exports to competition from cheaper steel imports from the Far East and more competitive prices from CIS countries.

Turkey’s main HRC customer last year was Italy with 207,850 mt, followed by Romania (93,310 mt) and USA (74,460 mt).

December HRC exports, however, were up 22% on the previous month to 137,850 mt. Greece became Turkey’s main HRC buyer in December with 17,218 mt, followed by Belgium (16,075 mt) and Egypt (14,730 mt).

Turkish HRC export offers stable at $600-620/mt FOB

Turkish hot rolled coil producers’ export offers remain stable at $600-620/metric ton FOB since mid-January, despite the downward price adjustment seen in the local market last week. HRC export tonnages into Europe are very low, as offers from major producers in Turkey remain uncompetitive in European markets, Platts learned from market sources on Monday.

“Turkish HRC offer prices are not so competitive against other sources, mostly CIS countries. CIS producers’ current offer prices vary between $570-600/mt FOB; for that reason Turkish HRC export tonnages remain low. A $10-20/mt discount on current levels is a necessity for Turkish producers", a trader said.

“I heard that at the end of last week a major supplier of coils in Turkey offered HRC at $610/mt FOB to Europe. But this level still remained above the market price in Europe. There were some export deals made at $575-580/mt FOB at the beginning of January, but no new transactions have been heard since Turkish producers pushed up their export offers,” another trader observed.

Turkish HRC producers entered February by lowering their offers $10-20/mt to the local market, following steep price hikes throughout January.

Turkish mills’ HRC offers to the local market are now at $620-640/mt ex-works. Producers are asking for $720-730/mt ex-works for cold rolled coil, $800-820/mt ex-works for 0.5mm thick hot-dip galvanized coil and $940-960/mt ex-works for 0.5mm thick 9002 code colour-coated galvanized coil (PPGI), Platts heard.

Icdas cuts rebar and wire rod prices on weakening scrap

Turkish long steelmaker Icdas has reduced prices of bar and wire rod by $26-29/metric ton valid from Monday, owing to the softening scrap market, Platts learned from the company.

Icdas announced its sales price for 12-32mm diameter rebar at TRY 1,260/mt ex-works ($718). Its price for 10mm dia rebar came up to 1,270/mt ex-works ($723), while 8mm dia rebar is at TRY 1,280/mt ($728) ex-works. These prices all include 18% VAT. The new levels represent a TRY 45/mt ($26) increase on the company’s previous price list.

The company also reduced its wire rod prices by TRY 51/mt ($29) to 1,300-1,360/mt ($739-774) ex-works, including 18% VAT.

Turkey's largest electric arc furnace steel producer, Icdas, stopped its 1 million metric tons/year capacity EAF at its Biga site in December, due to poor local and export demand, thus reducing 'excess billet' capacity, as reported.

Special Report: UK stockholders expect section price hikes

UK longs market participants surveyed at the North East Association of Steel Stockholders (NEASS) dinner Friday were optimistic that medium sections prices would firm between now and April.

Latest offers of quayside inventories were around £520-530/metric ton (€603-615/mt) delivered, one Yorkshire-based stockholder said. One trader had a vessel still to arrive from the Far East in around ten days. He did not specify how much he paid for the cargo, but suggested prices were higher now: “Prices are about £30/mt higher than they were and over the next four weeks will continue to rise by another £40-50/mt,” he said.

A Yorkshire-based stockholder agreed, suggesting firmer raw materials prices have not been reflected in longs prices in the UK, or throughout Europe. He cited the price of iron ore – which has risen more than 30% since the start of December and was at $155/dry mt CFR North China Monday according to Platts data – and rain-related disruption to coking coal shipments out of Australia’s Bowen Basin as factors that would support prices.

Other sources concurred that the weakness of sterling was supporting exports and protecting the domestic market from euro-denominated imports. Another stockist said demand was still poor, but that general steel stockholders had been faring relatively well considering. A source with a credit insurer agreed, but said structural fabricators were still in trouble, and there could be more bankruptcies in coming months.

The resignation of Severfield-Rowen’s ceo Tom Haughey and the company’s profit warning could be seen as a negative factor for the structural fabricating sector as a whole, he said. Big companies often have clauses built into their contracts to protect them from large swings in prices. However, in a bid to win business in a very competitive environment they have been offering fixed prices, which means they have had to take hits when prices have risen.

British construction output fell again in January with the Markit Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) at 48.7, the fastest rate of contraction since last June.

Ilva asks for the release of 47,000 mt of 'seized' products

Ilva’s legal team has asked the regional prosecutors to release at least part of the products that had been put under sequestration, arguing that they were produced before 26 July, the date when the product seizure was supposed to have been effective, a source closed to the Italian steelmaker told Platts.

It is understood that Ilva requested the prompt release of 47,000 metric tons of finished products. The prosecutors seized a total of 1.7 million mt of finished and semi-finished products as part of their efforts to enforce an environmental clean-up at the Taranto steelworks.

After the decree law that permits the company to continue to produce and to market the products, the 1.7 million mt remain under sequestration because the prosecutors challenged the decree as unconstitutional.

Federacciai, the Italian steel industry body, urged magistrates many times to release the goods into the market. There were rumours that the government has been preparing another decree, but it seems now that the issue will be decided by the constitutional court around mid- February.

Turkish rebar exports up 17% in 2012 to 8.6 million mt

Turkey’s rebar producers exported 8.6 million metric tons in 2012, up 17.4% on the previous year, and achieved sales to more markets, Platts observed from figures published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).

Iraq shot into first place over the course of 2012 as the largest single export market, purchasing 1.26 million mt from Turkish steelmakers, predominantly booking from those based in southern Turkey overland by truck.

United Arab Emirates slipped to second spot, but still purchased 989,398 mt in 2012, 22.4% more than the previous year. All of Turkey’s ten-largest export markets booked more rebar in 2012 than in 2011.

Turkey’s steelmakers increased not only the tonnage sold to their largest markets, but broadened their scope of sales, as 155 countries purchased rebar from Turkey last year, compared to 152 the previous year. More significantly, 12 countries booked over 200,000 mt of rebar from Turkey in 2012, compared to only ten in 2011.

Turkish mills expanded their export reach noticeably into West and East Africa – expanding markets such as Ethiopia and Nigeria. In addition, South America was again a prominent contributor to rebar purchases, with Peru among the top-importers of Turkish rebar, while Venezuela, Columbia and Chile all purchased 50,000-100,000 mt in 2012.

One downside to the rebar exports made last year is that the mean price slumped. In 2012 the average price was $628.2/metric ton for the exports made; in 2011 the average price was $680.4/mt.

Turkey rebar exports   Metric tons
	2012	2011
Iraq	1,258,495	858,975
UAE	989,398	807,208
Saudi Arabia	693,225	256,231
USA	606,868	410,450
Yemen	499,217	250,847
Egypt	457,185	446,076
Israel	445,359	427,719
Libya	363,731	51,500
Lebanon	327,353	238,139
Ethiopia	289,444	185,679

Spanish Tubos Reunidos fails to sell distribution unit

The Spanish-based seamless tubes producer Tubos Reunidos, has announced in a regulatory filing that it failed to sell its distribution unit, Almesa, due to the difficult situation of the domestic Spanish market and the crisis of the construction sector.

As a result the group is retaining this part of the business, but has announced that it will no longer serve the construction industry but only focus on the industrial markets, the most important ones for Tubos Reunidos mill production. In addition to that, the distribution unit will see a process of internationalisation, using the existing sales network of the Tubos Reunidos group.

Almesa distributes welded and seamless tubular products in Spain through six sites in the country.

Aperam increases losses, sees improving signs

The stainless steel producer Aperam increased its losses during Q4 2012, despite a slight recovery in overall sales. Overall for the entire year the company registered net losses of $108 million, from a net loss of $60 million registered in 2011.

During Q4 the company saw sales reaching $1,29 billion, up from the $1,20 billion registered in Q3; nevertheless net loss was of $52 million, from $17 million in Q3. Overall during the year total steel shipments were down some 4% year-on-year to 1.68 million metric tons.

To respond to the current economic uncertainty, Aperam is continuing the efforts to improve its cost competitiveness and profitability, targeting a further $150m saving by 2014, to be added to the previous $350m savings planned by 2013.

Philippe Daramayan, CEO of the company, noted “positive signs of market improvement”, but stressed the company continues to remain cautious. Aperam expects EBITDA for Q1 2013 to increase compared with the $43 million registered in Q4 2012.

Special steelmaker cuts jobs, seeks 'sustainable output'

German special steel producer Deutsche Edelstahlwerke (DEW) will cut 160 jobs across its four locations, the company has confirmed to Platts.

DEW, part of Swiss steel group Schmolz+Bickenbach, employs 4,000 people at its sites in Witten, Krefeld, Hagen and Siegen in northwest Germany and has an annual output of one million metric tons, according to its website.

A spokesperson for DEW said that no production lines would be stopped as a result of the job losses, but neither confirmed nor denied that it meant a reduction in output. “Due to the European financial crisis and the changing market conditions Deutsche Edelstahlwerke has to prepare the company for a long-term sustainable output,” said the spokesperson.

“The reduction in staff numbers is one of several measures with which we must react to the consequences of the European financial and economic crisis, and to the long-term changes in the market,” said managing director of engineering Jürgen Alex.

The company added that parts of the capacity were designed for a higher output and were only used in exceptional years. “We adapt this level to a mid-term sustainable and average amount of output… However, this does not mean that we reduce the output over the entire plant.”

Employees affected by the job cuts are due to leave the company by 31 December 2014.

South Russian rebar mill to start up EAF in Q2 this year

Abinsk Electrometallurgical Plant, the 500,000-600,000 metric tonnes/year rebar rolling mill in south Russia’s Krasnodar territory, is preparing to start cold testing its newly built steelmaking shop in late April-May with the commissioning of casting on an industrial scale due to begin shortly thereafter, Platts learnt from a source at the mill.

The melting shop, with a 120-mt EAF, ladle furnace and billet caster, was supplied by Turkish firm CVS and is designed to produce 1.3 million mt/year of steel cast into 130-200mm square billet. Its maximum output may be twice as much as the mill’s rebar rolling capacity and so any billet excess, potentially up to 600,000 mt/y, may be exported. Abinsk doesn’t have immediate plans to expand its rolling capacity to match that for billet.

Last year, it made 536,000 mt of rebar, almost all sold domestically, mainly in the surrounding southern federal district. This year, its output may top 600,000 mt.

Once the melting shop is ramped up, Abinsk’s current billet supplier Novorosmetall – also in the Krasnodar territory and having the same owner – will resume billet exports, Platts understands.

Equipped with a 50-tonne EAF, Novorosmetall can produce 500,000-600,000 mt/y of 100-130mm billet. It used to export all of its output, mainly to Turkey, before it switched its shipments to Abinsk to supply all of the mill’s needs in mid-2010, as reported.

Metalloinvest plans phase-out of Ural Steel's remaining OHFs

Russia’s Metalloinvest is planning to permanently shut the two remaining open hearth furnaces at its Ural Steel works in the Orenburg region, southern Urals, by April. The third furnace was already stopped and is to be scrapped, Platts heard from several sources familiar with the decision.

Once the old furnaces are phased out, Ural Steel’s crude steel capacity will decrease from 3.4 million metric tons/year in 2012 to 2.4 million mt/year in the second quarter. The mill’s other meltshop is equipped with two 120-mt electric arc furnaces. When contacted by Platts, the company’s spokesman refused to comment.

The decision to dismantle the open hearth furnaces was prompted by their costly inefficient production, several industry sources said. “It’s not because of poor billet trade. Looking at Ural Steel, we see it takes three OHFs and so very likely three times as many resources, to produce the same amount of steel one can make with a single 100- or 120-mt EAF”, one of them noted.

The mill’s OHF shop is used to make square billet and round billet for pipemaking mainly intended for Pervouralsk pipe, part of Russia’s pipe making group Chelpipe. The OHF shop made 760,000 metric tons of steel all ingot-cast in 2012. This was 10% down from 2011 and represented a third of Ural Steel’s 2.3 million mt total production last year.

Going further, although it doesn’t have a billet caster, Ural Steel will be able to switch its ingot-cast billet production to the EAF shop, which currently specializes in slab, but whether it will continue dispatching billet in the same quantities will depend on markets, Platts understands.

Metinvest rose Q4 but cut 2012 output on weaker flats trade

Ukrainian mining and steelmaking group Metinvest returned steel production to growth in the fourth quarter but reported a double-digit decline in the full year 2012. The company’s crude steel production improved by 2% quarter-on-quarter to 2.88 million metric tons in October-December mainly thanks to a 3% increase in finished output (2 million mt).

In full 2012, Metinvest made 12.46 million mt of crude steel, 13% less than in 2011. Despite a slight 2% increase in production at the company’s Yenakievo mill (2.7 million mt), the total fell due to a cut of almost 2 million mt or 17% at Azovstal and Ilyich steelworks.

Output of semi-finished products, including pig iron, dropped by roughly a quarter to 2.73 million mt. Notably, slab output was halved (to 1.3 million mt) at Azovstal and Ilyich which drove the total down, whilst output of billet grew by almost 60% to 0.8 million mt last year.

The reduced slab and strengthened billet production is attributed to contrasting trends in the market. Unfavourable slab market conditions in Asia and Europe, and oversupply which aggravated competition in these markets led to a decrease in slab prices from January to December 2012 on average by $100/mt. Slab prices thus fell $80/mt below these for billet, noted Metinvest.

Metinvest’s 2012 finished steel output fell 8% year-on-year to 8.6 million mt. Stronger competition, especially in Europe, due to weakening steel demand and prices was the major reason behind the decline.

The company’s pipe production fell 36% to 435,000 mt. Output of large-diameter pipes dropped 39% to 384,000 mt, which Metinvest explained by the completion of a gas pipeline project n Kazakhstan and the postponement of the next stage of the East-West pipeline in Turkmenistan.

Essar Algoma CEO sees improving 2013 plate market

Essar Steel Algoma CEO Kalyan Ghosh believes the North American plate market will improve over 2013 but pricing may remain under pressure.

“Comparatively speaking, demand for the current quarter is slightly less than what we saw the previous year,” Ghosh tells Platts. “This quarter over last, demand is holding relatively the same.”

Canada-based Essar Steel Algoma produces both sheet and plate. Its sheet products are used mainly in the automotive end-use market as well as for pipe and tube applications in the construction and oil and gas sectors. The company’s plate products are mostly used in construction, mining, manufacturing, energy, shipbuilding and military end-use markets.

“Generally we believe the North American plate market will improve in calendar 2013 however we expect pricing will be under continued pressure, in part from overseas imports,” Ghosh said.

Plate pricing declined around $150/short ton from May through the end of 2012 due mostly to increased imports. Imports have decreased sharply since November.

Essar Steel Algoma believe the versatility of its mill allows it to compete in the US market. “Our plate and strip mill provides us the flexibility to divert tons between sheet and plate based on market conditions,” Ghosh said. “We determine the right mix based on profitability and long-term customer and product segment strategies.”

US ITC to conduct multiple sunset reviews for HRC

Hot-rolled coil AD/CVD duties under review   According to available data
	AD margins	CVD margins
India	0-38.72%	16.10-577.28%
Indonesia	47.86%	10.21%
Thailand	3.86-20.30%	2.38%
China	12.39-90.83%
Taiwan	20.28-29.14%
Ukraine	90.33%

The US ITC will conduct full five-year sunset reviews on antidumping and countervailing duty orders for hot-rolled coil from several countries.

The commissioners voted to review countervailing duty orders on hot-rolled steel flat products from India, Indonesia and Thailand and antidumping duty orders for the same product from China, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Ukraine.

The ITC will determine whether revoking the orders will likely cause “continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies and material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.”

US raw steel production slips on week, mostly in Midwest

US raw steel production edged down 0.3% week on week for the week ended February 2, according to American Iron and Steel Institute data released Monday.

Total raw steel production in the week ended February 2 was 1.801 million st, compared to 1.806 million st in the week before. Average capability utilization slipped to 75.2% last week, from 75.4% the week before.

In the comparable week of 2012, US mills yielded 1.944 million st of steel, while the industry capability utilization was 78.5%.

Year-to-date production totaled 9.01 million st, down 6.2% from the 9.60 million st produced in the same period of 2012. Capability utilization so far in 2013 has been 75%, compared to 77.7% in 2012.

In the Midwest, production dropped to 254,000 st, a 3.1% decrease from the prior week’s 262,000 st. North East steel production slipped to 195,000 st, a 0.5% reduction from 196,000 st. Southern steel production also edged down to 609,000 st, 0.2% lower than 610,000 yielded in the week before.

Great Lakes steel production increased to 657,000 st, up 0.8% from 652,000 st. Western steel production held steady week on week at 86,000 st.

AISI determines its weekly raw steel production data based on weekly data from 50% of the domestic industry and estimates the rest using monthly production data. Year-on-year capability utilization statistics are not directly comparable because AISI estimated Q1 2013 production capability at about 30.8 million st, versus 32.3 million st in Q1 of 2012.

US metals jobs steady as construction sector picks up

January primary and fabricated metals employment in the US changed marginally month on month, while the construction sector picked up 28,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Primary metals employment edged down to 398,400 in January, on a seasonally adjusted basis, down about 100 jobs from 398,500 in December 2012. The fabricated metal products sector, however, added 1,000 more jobs in January, as the sector’s total reached 1.425 million employed in January, seasonally adjusted on December 1.424 million employed.

In January, the construction industry added 28,000 jobs, bringing the seasonally adjusted total to 5.73 million, up from 5.70 million in December. Ken Simonson, the Associated General Contractors of America’s chief economist, noted that construction firms added 102,000 jobs in January year on year, or 1.8% more jobs.

“The new employment data show the industry lost even more jobs in the recession than previously estimated but has added almost 300,000 jobs in the past two years, including nearly 100,000 since September,” Simonson said in an AGC report.

The construction industry’s unemployment rate in January 2013 was 16.1%, compared to 17.7% in January 2012. These figures are not seasonally adjusted, and the AGC noted that these figures tend to be high in January.

The government report noted that specialty trade contractor employment grew by 26,200 month on month, reaching about 3.6 million in January.

Canadian PMI hovers above no-change mark for January

The Canadian purchasing managers’ index was just above the no-change mark for January, indicating that the Canadian manufacturing business made marginal gains during the month.

The index, reported by the Royal Bank of Canada, was 50.5 in January, slightly above the 50.4 level of November and December. Ratings higher than 50 indicate expansion, while those below 50 show contraction.

The survey found that one-in-four panelists saw an increase in new orders month on month, though client demand was generally weak.

Canadian metals firms noted higher input costs in January, and while selling prices for companies increased at a weaker pace than input costs.

Argentina flats prices remain at pre-holiday levels

Argentina’s flat steel prices have remained relatively unchanged in early 2013 compared with December levels, according to domestic market sources.

“Ternium Siderar is holding prices steady, and the way the market slowed early this year, there is no chance for a price increase in the coming weeks,” said one trader. Siderar is the largest steelmaker in Argentina and the sole flats producer.

According to other market sources, Argentina's flats market is quiet even compared with the typical lower expectations for January. The sentiment is that activity will continue to be weak at least until March.

According to a service center source, steel demand is usually 20% lower at the beginning of the year.

“The agribusiness sector is still on vacation, which means that demand from this sector is not happening in this quarter. January is a 'dead' month in Argentina, not only in the steel industry, but in others,” said a distributor source.

Even so, inventories at the distribution level are said to be at normal levels. “We have been able to maintain shipments, but we reduced our orders from Siderar to not more than 1,000 metric tons [a month],” he said.

"Siderar's lead time is at around three months," said another distributor, noting that the Ternium subsidiary operates at a slower pace than other steelmakers in the country.

Hot-rolled coil, 16-18 gauge, for agribusiness applications is being sold to domestic distributors at around $970-1,020/mt FOB mill, excluding taxes. Cold-rolled coil, 20-22-gauge, for white goods is priced at roughly $1,055-1,130/mt FOB mill.

Ecuador's Andec may raise scrap imports to boost output

The strengthening of the Ecuadorian construction market, as well as a newly commissioned electric arc furnace (EAF), may prompt state-owned mill Andec to double its imports of scrap, a company executive told Platts. Currently, all the metallic raw material used in the Guayaquil plant's electric furnaces comes from the US, he said.

"Ecuador has a deficit of scrap production and, since we do not produce iron ore, we strongly depend on the import of raw materials," explained the executive.

For the full year of 2012, the longs producer imported around 15,000 mt of scrap from the US. "We still have some inventory, but it will be necessary to at least double this amount for this year," said the source, adding that competitors will need to increase their imports as well.

Adelca and Novacero are the other longs steelmakers operating in Ecuador.

Andec began operating a new EAF in January that will add 220,000 mt/year of crude steel capacity to the plant's existing 120,000 mt/year. The EAF will help supply a new continuous billet caster being installed at the plant. The caster will be operational in April.

Andec currently rolls 250,000 mt/year of rebar, wire rod, angles and bars.

Sidor aims to strengthen steel supply to private sector

Executives of Venezuela’s largest steelmaker Sidor met with private sector representatives this past weekend to discuss the best way to ensure adequate steel supply to privately funded projects.

Sidor has been accused of supplying rebar only to the government’s housing program, Gran Misión Vivienda Venezuela (GMVV), and causing a shortage of the product in the private domestic market.

“There have been meetings with the private sector representatives in order to address their concerns and agree to measures to ensure delivery of products based on their needs," said Jose Trompiz, manager of Sidor’s steel supply division.

While the company is aiming to renew its commitment to the private sector in 2013, it continues to officially state that its priority is to supply GMVV.

Sidor asked the private sector companies - mostly service centers - to order only the necessary tonnage from the steelmaker, which will make efforts to supply them beginning in the second quarter of this year.

2012 net profit at Peru's Aceros Arequipa plunges 75%

Peruvian longs maker Aceros Arequipa had a net profit of Nuevo Sol 45.8 million ($17.7 million) in 2012, the company announced in its fourth quarter and year-end financial report. This represents a 75% drop from 2011, when net profit reached Nuevo Sol 183.8 million ($71.2 million).

Mill sales experienced a small increase from Nuevo Sol 2 billion ($800 million) to Nuevo Sol 2.1 billion ($839 million) in 2012, but elevated sales and distribution costs were responsible for reducing the company's profit. Exports represent only 10.7% of the company's sales. Shipment volume was not disclosed.

Aceros Arequipa also reported an elevation of its inventories, now worth an estimated Nuevo Sol 425.9 million ($165.1 million) of rolled products at the end of 2012. At the end of 2011, inventories were at Nuevo Sol 295.1 million ($114.3 million).

The Q4 results showed a net profit of Nuevo Sol 2.5 million ($972,480), 27% less than in Q3. Sales increased 3% and reached Nuevo Sol 565 million ($219.2 million).

"It is noteworthy that the observed evolution from the volume sold in the period from October-December 2011 compared with the fourth quarter of this year represented a growth of 23% - a figure that is in line with sales growth seen throughout the current year," stated Aceros Arequipa.

The mill's gross margin in Q4 was 10%, "showing an improvement over that recorded in the previous quarter (8%). A recovery in the domestic prices noted at the end of the year and the reduction of some high-cost inventories in previous periods explain, in part, this evolution," the company stated.

Aperam South America sees flat shipments in Q4

Stainless and electrical steels producer Aperam South America registered steady shipments in the fourth quarter, compared with the third quarter of 2012. The flat Q4 shipments of 151,000 mt were "due to a seasonal slowdown," said the Luxembourg-based company in its latest financial report.

The South American unit's shipments represented 37.7% of Aperam's total shipment volume of 400,000 mt in Q4. During full year 2012, South American shipments reached 617,000 mt, a drop of 4.6% from 2011.

EBITDA from South America decreased from $26 million in the Q3 to $24 million in Q4 "primarily due to the seasonal impact, which was partially offset by some positive [product] mix improvement," the company explained.

Meanwhile, Aperam expects to increase its South American unit's market share in Brazil during 2013, as the government increased import tariffs to 25% in October 2012 and the company is still working on antidumping duties with the domestic authorities.

Aperam, the only domestic producer of stainless steel in Brazil, currently has a market share of approximately 65% in the country.

The current size of the Brazilian stainless market is 400,000 mt/year, which is expected to increase by 3-4% in 2013.

Iran's Hormozgan exports 25,000 mt of slab, more to follow

Mobarkaeh Steel affiliate Hormozgan Steel has exported 25,000 metric tons of slab to India, despite heavy tariffs introduced in November and economic sanctions hampering steel exports from Iran. The firm is also requesting governmental permission to export a further 50,000 mt.

Hormozgan Steel, Iran’s latest semi-product producer, is gradually ramping up production, which is expected to reach 600,000 mt for the current Iranian year (ending March 20 2013). Output will be increased to 1.5 million metric tons/year within twelve months, according to Hormozgan managing director Asghar Madani.

Hormozgan Steel is located in a special industrial zone about 13km west of Bandar Abbas port. It produces slab 200-250mm thick, 900-2,000mm wide and 6-12m long. The plant was bought in full by Iran’s largest steel producer, Mobarakeh Steel Company, in February 2011. It comprises two 825,000 mt/year Midrex direct reduced iron modules and a steelmaking plant with two electric arc furnaces, two ladle furnaces and a two-strand continuous slab caster.

Captors release Syrian steel mill expatriate workers

Three expatriate workers of Syrian rebar producer Hmisho Steel have been freed by their captors after they were abducted near the Mediterranean port of Tartus in December, a company official told Platts on Monday.

The workers are V.V. Gorelov, a Russian citizen; Abdessattar Hassun, who has dual Russian-Syrian citizenship; and Mario Belluomo, an Italian. The kidnappers were reported to be demanding a ransom from Hmisho for the men’s release; however, it is unclear whether this was paid.

“They [the workers] are fine and in a good health. They are now with our local authorities and will be delivered to the ministry of foreign affairs [later today],” the Hmisho official said.

Hmisho Steel has a 500,000 metric tons/year capacity rebar mill in Latakia, which recently suspended production owing to a shortage of imported billet, as reported. The company is in the process of commissioning a new 800,000 mt/y meltshop in Hassia industrial area near the war-torn city of Homs.

Emirates Steel adds larger rebar size to cover imports

United Arab Emirates’ main steelmaker Emirates Steel (ESI) has started producing rebar up to 40mm in diameter following modification to its rolling mill. Previous dimensions were 8-32mm.

According to ESI, rebar consumption in the Emirates numbered 160,000 metric tons/month in 2012 – 40mm dia rebar, used mainly in constructing huge building towers, sizable manufacturing units and bridges, comprised 2% of this total. ESI expects these figures to remain unchanged in 2013.

Company chief executive Saeed Al Romaithi sees the firm taking the lion’s share in the domestic 40mm dia rebar market against traditional supplier Turkey, as well local rival and re-roller Conares which introduced the larger size last October. “We want to make sure that we provide the market with its requirements of steel rebar in all sizes to cover the needs of our customers and to bridge the gap in the market,” Romaithi said in a statement sent to Platts on Sunday.

Abu-Dhabi based ESI produces up to 3.5 million mt/year of rebar, wire rod and heavy sections. It plans to increase this to 5.5 million mt/y by 2015.

Indian miner studies new UAE-based steelworks

An Indian mining company is studying the possibility of establishing a new direct reduced iron based-steelworks in the Arabian peninsula in order to offer downstream steel products, with the most likely location set to be Abu Dhabi, Indian industry sources told Platts on Monday.

According to Indian press reports last month quoting Sociedade de Fomento Industrial chairman Auduth Timblo, the Indian miner plans to invest around $300 million in a steel plant in the Kizad Industrial Zone near Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with Midrex as a possible supplier of ironmaking technology. Land is reported to have already been allocated.

Parent company Fomento Resources declined to comment on the project when contacted.

Prospective steel mill product range, production capacity and furnace type could not be ascertained at the time of writing. The understanding is, according to industry sources, that the company would ship iron ore from its Indian mines to use as feedstock for the plant.

Iron ore mining has been banned in Goa, where Fomento is based, since September 2012. The miner is currently awaiting an Indian Supreme Court ruling on whether iron ore mined at its sites in the neighboring state of Maharashtra can be exported through Goa’s ports, as reported.

Coil prices increase but plates weaken in US and Europe: TSI

The latest reference prices released by The Steel Index (TSI) show that most of its US and European coil prices rose slowly since the previous week. All TSI’s US and European plate prices dropped since last week, as did northern European rebar.

The weekly average of daily US HR coil reference prices FOB Midwest mill rose to $620/short ton ($684/metric ton), which is $4/st above last week's price. CR coil reference price gained by 0.6% and these are the first weekly increases since mid-December. HD Galvanised coil price decreased by $4/st. The 4-week rolling average delivery lead-time for HR coils is shorter since last week. US plate reference price FOB Midwest mill fell by $5/st to $736/st ($811/mt).

In northern Europe, the average of daily HR coil reference prices was just higher by €1/mt compared to last week's average. CR coil price slipped by 0.3%, while HDGalvanised coil reference price was €4/mt higher at €582/mt ($787/mt). 4-week rolling average lead-times for CR and HDG coils are longer. Northern European plate reference price ex-works was 2.7% lower at €546/mt ($738/mt).

The average of daily HR coil reference prices ex-works in southern Europe was unchanged from last week's average. CR coil reference price rose by €4/mt to €568/mt ($768/mt) and HDG coil price gained by €9/mt or 1.6%. 4-week average lead-times for HR coils are shorter. Southern European plate price dropped by €15/mt.

The southern European rebar reference price ex-works was unchanged at €507/mt ($686/mt). The average of Platts FOB Black Sea export billet prices for last week fell by $5/mt to $526/mt, so the rebar-billet spread increased to $160/mt.

Companies wishing to receive TSI's full set of reference prices every week can apply on its website www.thesteelindex.com .