Prices for flat-rolled steel in Europe fell this week due to increased import activity, forcing European producers to adjust their offerings to remain competitive.

Two-week Argus Italian flats fell €22.50/t to €730/t ex-works for S235 grades, while north-west European flats on the same specifications also fell €15 euro/t to 765 euro/t.

In the south, for S275 material, re-rollers offered small customers a price of 740-750 euro/t, and for large volumes – 720-730 euro/t. The market remains divided between suppliers willing to drop to the €700/t minimum to secure orders and others who preferred to stay at €740-750/t and wait until the Easter holidays to see how the market develops. This week, two rerollers confirmed they were considering extending the Easter holiday by a few days due to weak buying activity in the market. The S275 ex-works price was also reported to be €710/t for orders of 1,000t and above, but this could not be verified.