Quiet conditions prevail in European HRC market; prices stay flat
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel HRC index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €695.42 ($764.02) per tonne on Wednesday, up marginally by €0.42 per tonne from €695.00 per tonne on January 2.
The index was down by €0.08 per tonne week on week but up by €24.54 per tonne month on month.
Both buyers and sellers in the region were largely inactive due to holiday break.
But producers remained bullish for Janaury spot sales on good order books and reduced supply resulting from output cuts in late 2023.
Offers for March- and February-delivery HRC from integrated mills in the region were heard at €720-750 per tonne ex-works, with “very little room for negotiation,” Fastmarkets heard.
Tradable values were estimated by buyers at €680-700 per tonne ex-works on Wednesday.
“We will see the real market level [in the week commencing January 8], when everybody returns to the market,” one trading source said.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel HRC index domestic, exw Italy at €689.58 per tonne on Wednesday, up by €1.25 from €688.33 on January 2.
The index was up by €1.25 per tonne week on week and up by €29.58 per tonne month on month.
The Italian market was also quiet on Wednesday with no trading reported.
New offers from Italian steelmakers for February-March-delivery HRC stood at €720-730 per tonne delivered, while one European steelmaker was offering coil to the nation at €740 per tonne delivered.
These offers compare with the most recent trades reported in late December at €700 per tonne delivered (€680-690 ex-works), sources said.
No new import offers were reported on Wednesday, with most suppliers expected to table new price in the second week of January, Fastmarkets heard.
Published by: Julia Bolotova
Steel, shipping need to collaborate on decarbonisation: Lloyds/UMAS
International shipping could save 776 million tonnes of cumulative CO2 emissions between 2024 and 2050 by progressively adopting hot rolled steel with lower embodied carbon, according to analysis from Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and UMAS.
Shipping has a dual role to play in the steel sector’s low-emissions transition – as a buyer of green steel for shipbuilding, containers and infrastructure, and as a supplier of steel scrap from ship recycling, says UMAS. Additionally, the shipping sector transports a big proportion of steel produced globally, impacting the steel industry’s scope 3 emissions. “This further highlights the interconnectedness of the two sectors and the need for collaboration in strengthening their decarbonisation efforts,” the UK-based advisory service says in a note seen by Kallanish.
Currently, “green steel” is used as a catch-all term for steel with lower embodied emissions with various definitions suggested by different institutions. Going forward, it is preferred that the steel sector agrees on a definition based on clear GHG emissions reduction thresholds that also considers environmental, social, and socio-economic sustainability aspects, UMAS points out.
The analysis uses a forecast of the number and steel mass of newbuild ships likely to be built between 2024-2050, in line with expectations of growing demand, as well as achieving IMO GHG reduction ambitions. This is then used to estimate the potential CO2 emissions savings that could be achieved if the majority of the hot rolled steel used had lower embodied emissions, in line with the trajectory set by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) steel sector guidance.
“Continuing with business as usual, where the aforementioned volume of hot rolled steel is produced based on current production methods, will result in the shipping sector indirectly contributing to the creation of 1.3GtCO2 in the period to 2050. In order to align with the SBTi steel sector guidance, the international shipping sector could demand that its newbuild ships are built using green steel based on clear GHG emissions reduction thresholds that also considers environmental, social, and socio-economic sustainability aspects,” UMAS observes.
“Increasing green steel production requires action from both the steel sector and from its demand sectors, including shipping. Incentivising the use of green steel in shipping is critical to driving up demand, which in turn will incentivise increased production of green steel from steel producers. Furthermore, there is an expectation that interest in green steel will increase in the sector as shipowners begin to understand and explore ways to reduce their Scope 3 GHG emissions,” it concludes.
Adam Smith Poland
French construction sentiment continues to deteriorate
Sentiment among French construction companies deteriorated again in December following a negative November. The firms surveyed by l’Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (Insee) reported a stable but negative business climate.
Construction companies in both structural works and finishings had a pessimistic attitude towards their past and future activity. More firms than in November considered the evolution of their company and the market to be unpredictable. “The balance of opinion on the economic uncertainty being felt has kept on growing,” an Insee report obtained by Kallanish states.
Last month, contractors were slightly fewer in number compared to November to consider the level of their order books to be higher than normal. Given their staff size, they reported 8.2 months of work. Production capacity was stable on-month, while slightly fewer firms than the previous month reported slowing output because of supply difficulties.
21% of construction companies considered themselves unable to increase their production in case of additional orders due to a lack of personnel and supply difficulties.
However, in December, slightly more business managers than in November announced they will increase their prices in the upcoming three months, the report concludes.
Natalia Capra France
Salzgitter restarts blast furnace after final revamp
Salzgitter says its blast furnace A has been fired up again following a complete modernisation that lasted over 100 days, Kallanishlearns from the German steelmaker.
With the relining, Salzgitter has taken a key step towards securing its pig iron supply within the context of the incremental transformation phase towards low-CO2 steel production by 2033, it adds.
The furnace’s complete overhaul included the renewal of the refractory lining with 3,000 tonnes of carbon bricks and other refractory materials, and a modernisation of the complex process and control technology. Over €100 million ($109m) was invested in the measure, with Pirson Montage AG involved as an essential engineering partner.
Blast furnace A was originally commissioned in 1977 and has been relined several times. The unit has an annual capacity of around 2 million tonnes of pig iron. Salzgitter stated earlier that this will be the last reline of a blast furnace as the company is converting to direct reduced iron (DRI) technology.
Christian Koehl Germany