Proposal to launch Italian import steel slab price

Fastmarkets is proposing to launch a steel slab import, cif Italy price assessment to reflect the change in trade flows that have followed the disruption in traditional supply from the Black Sea.

Italy is a regular buyer of slab, particularly for plate production. In 2020 the country imported 2.4 million tonnes of slab, of which 82% originated from Ukraine, with the remainder mainly from Russia, according to International Steel Statistic Bureau (ISSB).

For this reason, Fastmarkets did not have a separate assessment for the Italian import slab price and reflected sales to Italy in its steel slab export, fob Black Sea, CIS assessment, which included both Russian and Ukrainian material.

Slab supply from Ukraine stopped due to the suspension of some major steelmaking and port operations after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, 2022.

In the absence of Ukraine, Italian re-rollers had to turn to alternative sources of slab, such as India, China and Indonesia.

Other potential sources of slab to Italy are Brazil and Iran.

The new assessment will be essential for tracking price trends amid the increased number of suppliers and origins and will broaden the scope of Fastmarkets’ global slab coverage.

The proposed price specifications are as follows:
Assessment: Steel slab import, cif Italy
Quality: S235JR, width 1,250-2,100mm, thickness 220- 270mm, length 6,000-12,000mm
Quantity: 20,000-50,000 tonnes
Timing: 8-10 weeks
Currency USD/tonne
Payment terms: LC at sight
Incoterms: cif Italy
Publication: Weekly, 2-3 pm London time on Fridays

The consultation period for this proposed launch will end one month from the date of this pricing notice, on Wednesday May 1. The launch will take place, subject to market feedback, on Friday May 3.

To provide feedback on this price or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to any of these prices, please contact Vlada Novokreshchenova by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Vlada Novokreshchenova, re: Italy import slab price.’

To see all of Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, please go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology

What to read next
Fastmarkets will amend the specifications of its existing price assessments for Europe/US lithium spot battery-grade and technical-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate to remove the US footprint, and will launch weekly price assessments for spot battery-grade and technical-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate for the United States and Canada on Thursday April 4.
This initiative marks a significant step towards reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions and championing the US in the global decarbonization effort
The March 2024 monthly averages were published today based on the index values of March 1, 8, 15 and 22.
Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-STE-0034 steel domestic plate 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe and MB-STE-0035 Steel domestic plate 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe assessments, which were published incorrectly on Wednesday March 27.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ daily assessment for aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US was delayed on Wednesday March 27. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Fastmarkets' holiday pricing schedule for 2024 has been updated to reflect the change in the pricing frequency of its mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) cif China, Japan and South Korea (CJK) prices.