Operation characteristics and analysis of European flat steel market in February

In February, the price of European flat steel ended to rise in an all-round way, and some varieties fell. At the end of February, the prices of cold-rolled and medium and heavy plates in EU steel mills fell by 5 US dollars (ton price, the same below) and 55 US dollars respectively, down to 586 US dollars and 567 US dollars respectively; the prices of hot-rolled coil and hot-dip galvanized sheet rose by 8 US dollars and 12 US dollars respectively, up to 500 US dollars and 611 US dollars respectively, compared with the previous month.

Cost support and import resource constraints are favorable factors for the current European steel market. Last year's continuous decline has brought the European market price down to the cost line, so the European market price is supported by the cost factor, which makes European steel mills have the basis of raising prices in January.

In addition, the EU's resource exclusion measures have also played a certain role in protecting the European steel market. According to the latest statistics, the EU's steel import in 2019 dropped 15% to 25.3 million tons year on year, the lowest since 2015. Among them, the average monthly import volume of hot rolling steel fell to 634000 tons. Turkey is the largest steel exporter in the European Union, and there are also obvious signs of shrinkage in 2019.

However, the weak recovery of steel demand caused by the weak EU economy is the main obstacle to the rise of EU steel prices. Therefore, the rise of EU market will be more tortuous. It is expected that the European flat steel market will stabilize in March.