London (Platts)--21Nov2012/825 am EST/1325 GMT
Peiner Trager, part of the German-based Salzgitter group, plans to increase its offer prices for steel sections in the European market by Eur100/mt ($128/mt) for all new orders received from November 26, it said in a statement Wednesday. "The increase was necessitated by the price erosion that has taken place over the course of 2012 and the currently high volatility of scrap costs. It was implemented in anticipation of production costs continuing to climb in 2013," the company said, stressing it expects a pick-up in demand in January 2013 as stock levels are low. The announcement follows an attempt last week by another major European supplier, Duferdofin-Nucor, to increase prices to recover some of the margins lost during 2012. Duferdofin-Nucor announced a price increase of Eur20/mt. "The European long producers have seen costs increasing during the last period," a senior commercial manager at a European supplier said. "I think the increases are justified and I expect the market to accept hikes of Eur20-40/mt by January. I doubt levels could increase further than that, based on the current demand." Article continues below...Request a free trial of: Platts SBB Steel Markets DailyPlatts SBB Steel Markets Daily provides transparent daily and weekly assessments of iron ore, coking coal, coke, ferrous scrap and ferroalloys prices, plus insightful analysis and commentary on the day's market activities.
Peiner Trager, part of the German-based Salzgitter group, plans to increase its offer prices for steel sections in the European market by Eur100/mt ($128/mt) for all new orders received from November 26, it said in a statement Wednesday. "The increase was necessitated by the price erosion that has taken place over the course of 2012 and the currently high volatility of scrap costs. It was implemented in anticipation of production costs continuing to climb in 2013," the company said, stressing it expects a pick-up in demand in January 2013 as stock levels are low. The announcement follows an attempt last week by another major European supplier, Duferdofin-Nucor, to increase prices to recover some of the margins lost during 2012. Duferdofin-Nucor announced a price increase of Eur20/mt. "The European long producers have seen costs increasing during the last period," a senior commercial manager at a European supplier said. "I think the increases are justified and I expect the market to accept hikes of Eur20-40/mt by January. I doubt levels could increase further than that, based on the current demand."
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Platts SBB Steel Markets Daily provides transparent daily and weekly assessments of iron ore, coking coal, coke, ferrous scrap and ferroalloys prices, plus insightful analysis and commentary on the day's market activities.
According to SBB price series for medium sections category I, the price in Europe for domestic-produced material is currently at Eur560-600/mt delivered, some Eur50/mt lower than the price registered in November 2011.--Emanuele Norsa, emanuele_norsa@platts.com--Edited by Alisdair Bowles, alisdair_bowles@platts.com
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