The price of Europe beams in was unchanged this week as a result of negative sentiment related to the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 4.
*** EUROPE BEAMS , north
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for Northern Europe beams , was €۵۴۰-۵۷۰ ($۶۳۱-۶۶۶) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.
Prices have been unchanged for the past five weeks, with producers now abandoning their attempts to push them upward, which have been going on since September following a change in sentiment. This was a result of rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in Europe and the reintroduction of lockdown measures in some countries.
“A dip in scrap prices caused people to pause and think, and the second wave [of infections] is adding another factor of uncertainty. Buying has slowed down and there are no big price movements. People are cautious about what they buy. The market is watchingscrap,” a European mill source said.
“The lockdowns are affecting sentiment in Europe beams market, but they are not as strict [as when they were first imposed earlier in the year] – economic activity is going on,” he added.
“Mills could be affected by the availability of staff. We know how to handle the mills with distancing at workstations – we are better prepared [this time],” he added. “We have strong order books and volumes are not affected, but there could be an effect on operations from people getting sick.”
*** HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) scrap
On the international market, Fastmarkets’ daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was calculated at $286.74 per tonne on November 3, roughly similar to $283.19 per tonne on October 5, but prices did dip to $274.60 per tonne on October 8-12.
“The second wave [of Covid-19] is affecting sentiment and demand in the market. We don’t know where this will end,” a distributor said.
“Our demand is falling we are not placing orders at the mill, which will hurt prices,” he added. “Mills’ production levels are good but that will change when orders dip, [and] prices could drop by €۱۰-۲۰ per tonne.”
*** EUROPE BEAMS , south
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for Southern Europe beams was €۵۴۰-۵۷۰ per tonne on Wednesday, flat since October 7.
“I don’t think prices will dip, but demand is linked to what customers need. Order books are pretty strong in Europe, [and] I don’t see a likelihood [of lower prices],” a Southern European mill source said.
“The second wave [of infections] is affecting sentiment, unfortunately. October was a positive month, sales were very good, but the second half was affected. Real consumption is still good, [and] November consumption will be better than sentiment, which is very negative,” he added.
“The [latest] lockdown is going to be lighter than the first one, but [gross domestic product] will be affected,” he said. “It will still be difficult, but there will be a recovery as there was in the third quarter of this year. Mills are better prepared [and] there are new procedures in place.”
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