Northwest European coil market deems price hike unlikely
Despite efforts by mills last month to bring coil prices up somewhat, the prices paid on the market have, in fact, continued retreating.
Some European mills were trying to increase their prices by €20-30/tonne ($22-33), “but in reality, prices are getting more and more downward pressure. There is still too much material around, and demand is not in balance with supply,” a buyer at a Dutch steel user tells Kallanish. “I do not see any clear signals that the European market will improve in the next weeks.”
Transactions are now frequently undercutting the mark of €600/tonne ($667) for hot rolled coil. Another Dutch source assesses the range of spot market prices within the EU for HRC, at between €580/t and €620/t, “depending on volumes, region, quoting mills and desired lead time”, he points out.
Lead times can be extraordinarily short these days. “Four to six weeks is possible, but even sooner if required,” the Dutch buyer says. He expresses sympathy for the mills’ ongoing suffering and notes they are very accommodating as they are vying for the sparse order volume on the market.
Meanwhile, a Belgium-based trader tells of comments he hears from Poland. Customers there are even expecting that mills will lower their prices for October. It is not quite clear if that would apply to Polish/Central European mills, or also to close-by German mills. “But I am sure that will not be their [mills’] official statement,” the trader says.
Christian Koehl Germany
Ontras, H2 Energy Europe partner on hydrogen network
German transmission system operator (TSO) Ontras and H2 Energy Europe have partnered to establish a green hydrogen transport network between Denmark and Germany, Kallanish reports.
Under an MOU, the companies will explore options to transport green hydrogen from H2 Energy Europe’s planned 1-gigawatt production facility in Denmark through the proposed German hydrogen core network (HCN). If successful, the hydrogen could be delivered to German industrial customers in Salzgitter, Berlin, Eisenhüttenstadt, Magdeburg and Leipzig-Halle, the companies said in a joint statement Thursday. These will include steelmakers, chemical manufacturers and power generators.
The companies say they could utilise the Ontras Green Octopus Mitteldeutschland pipeline, a roughly 300-kilometre-long pipeline connecting the industrial regions to the HCN. German utility EnBW, the parent company of Ontras, is investing €1 billion ($1.09 billion) to build HCN, which is estimated to come into operation by 2032.
Ontras and H2 Energy Europe plan to assess the technical and commercial transport requirements, as well as potential exit points, to bring green hydrogen from H2 Energy’s Esbjerg plant to Germany. Ultimately, the two companies intend to enter a long-term capacity contract.
“This agreement perfectly symbolises our dedication to creating a comprehensive hydrogen backbone on a European level,” says Ralph Bahke, Ontras’ managing director of controlling and development. “Hard-to-abate industries will be able to substantially reduce their carbon emissions using renewable hydrogen delivered to them through our network from sources such as this ambitious project in Denmark.”
H2 Energy Europe’s so-called Njordkraft project plans to construct a 1-GW green hydrogen production facility in Esbjerg, Denmark. The plant is expected to produce 90,000 tonnes/year of green hydrogen using power from offshore wind farms, with commercial operations planned for 2028.
Cyril Cabanes, chief executive of H2 Energy Europe, adds that connecting the proposed project to Ontras’ gas transport network in Germany, would “contribute to the development of an integrated, reliable hydrogen economy that spans across Europe.”
Reethu Ravi UK
SSAB Europe head Olavi Huhtala to retire
Olavi Huhtala, Head of SSAB Europe, has announced that he will retire during winter 2025. A recruitment process to find his successor will now begin.
Olavi Huhtala has been head of SSAB Europe and a member of SSAB’s Group Executive Committee since 2014.
He has been employed by the company since 1987, starting at Rautaruukki which combined with SSAB in 2014. He has held several leading positions including as Executive Vice President and head of Ruukki Metals.
“I have had amazing years at SSAB and the benefit of working together with engaged and competent colleagues,” says Olavi Huhtala. “Together we have built a modern company with a better product mix and improved safety. I am proud of having contributed to important events such as the combination of SSAB and Rautaruukki and in recent years the transition toward fossil-free steelmaking. Now it’s time for me to do something else in life and manage my own time.”
“I want to thank Olavi for his contributions to SSAB,” says President and CEO Martin Lindqvist. “As head of one division, he has played a significant role in developing SSAB into the great company it is today with improved profitability and a leading position in the green transition.”
Olavi Huhtala will remain in his role as head of SSAB Europe until the end of January 2025, after which he will remain as an advisor.
Steel wire rod, rebar prices inch lower in Poland amid sluggish demand
Wire rod
The steel wire rod market in Poland was quiet in the week to Friday, with buyers reportedly postponing restocking amid weak end-user demand and downbeat expectations.
“Demand [for wire rod] is very low; there is no restocking — it’s quite the opposite,” a buyer source said.
One major supplier in Poland was heard planning a maintenance stoppage of 2.5 weeks for September.
But even news about potentially lower supply in the following weeks did not spur buying, sources said.
Offers for September-delivery rolling wire rod from domestic mills were reported at 2,800-2,850 ($726-739) zloty per tonne CPT on Friday, unchanged from the previous week.
But for large tonnages, it was possible to obtain 2,700-2,750 zloty per tonne CPT, sources said.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel wire rod (drawing quality), domestic, delivered Poland was 2,700-2,800 zloty per tonne on Friday, widening downward by 50 zloty per tonne from 2,750-2,800 zloty per tonne on August 30.
Import offers were also unchanged week on week.
Drawing-quality wire rod offers from Italy to Poland were heard at €642-670 ($712-743) per tonne CPT, depending on the location.
From Ukraine and Moldova, offers for mesh-quality material were heard at €620 per tonne CPT. Similar offers were heard from a German supplier to Poland.
Rebar
The rebar market was also quiet in Poland, but order intake for cut-and-bend rebar was quite good, and cut-and-bender facilities in the country were not accepting orders for the second half of October, sources said.
Interest for straight rebar was lower from its main end-user sector because “construction companies want to get material as much processed as possible,” a source said.
Offers for rebar from two Polish mills were heard at 2,610-2,660 zloty per tonne CPT for lots “starting with 100-200 tonnes,” a second source said.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Poland was 2,610-2,660 zloty per tonne on Friday, down by 10-20 zloty per tonne from 2,630-2,670 zloty per tonne on August 30.
In the secondary market, prices for rebar from stock were heard at 2,680-2,730 zloty per tonne CPT, depending on the region.
Cheaper import offers were also dragging on Polish rebar prices, Fastmarkets understands. Notably, import offers of rebar from Germany to Poland were heard at €615-625 per tonne CPT.
From Ukraine, offers for November-delivery rebar were heard at €570 per tonne DAP border for material with 10-32 mm diameter, which nets back to €600 per tonne CPT. Extras for 8-mm-diameter material were reported at €10 per tonne.
Published by: Julia Bolotova
European HRC prices continue to slide on persistent lack of demand
A combination of slow demand from key end-user sectors and chronic oversupply continued to act as a drag on domestic HRC prices in Europe.
Sources said the recent news about the potential closure of two factories at leading German automaker Volkswagen had flustered the steel sector and said it might aggravate the oversupply situation in European HRC. They added, however, that there had been no immediate effect and that Volkswagen’s decision was not yet firm.
Long-term contracts with original equipment manufacturers in the automotive industry for the second half of 2024 were only recently closed at €740-750 ($821-832) per tonne – and even at €700 per tonne in some cases – in contrast with €800 per tonne in the first half of the year.
“EU mills made some concession for H2 [2024] contracts with the automotive [manufacturers], but the gap with the spot market is still too big. Negotiations for H1 2025 will start in October and there will be a fight for another decline,” a buyer in Germany said.
In the spot market, buyers were in no rush to replenish stocks, given the slow order intake.
“Traders and steel-service centers (SSCs) are postponing bookings because of uncertainty over price developments, due to the disappointing performance of the automotive and construction [sectors], but also because of the short lead times [from the EU mills] or sufficient stocks” a buyer source in northern Europe said.
“At the same time, there is fierce competition especially between SSCs because of high inventories and cashflow needs.” the source added.
On Friday, offers from integrated mills in Germany and the Benelux region were heard at €600 per tonne ex-works, but Fastmarkets understands that some producers are ready to sell at €570-580 per tonne ex-works for larger tonnages.
And one major supplier was heard offering HRC at €580 per tonne ex-works.
Buyer estimates of workable prices were reported at €560-590 per tonne ex-works, depending on the tonnage, but the lower end of the range was deemed as “unworkable” by suppliers.
Nevertheless, two sources reported a booking of HRC from a Benelux-based re-roller at €560 per tonne ex-works in the week to Friday – although the deals could not be confirmed at the time of publication.
Lead times from European mills were about five to six weeks, sources said.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at €580.75 ($649.39) per tonne on Friday, down by €6.95 per tonne from €587.60 per tonne on the previous day.
The index was down by €10.50 per tonne week on week and by €39.25 per tonne month on month.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its corresponding daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Italy at €580.24 per tonne on Friday, down by €4.76 per tonne from €585 per tonne on the previous day.
The Italian index was down by €11.01 per tonne week on week and by €39.76 per tonne month on month.
Offers of HRC in Italy were heard at €600 per tonne CPT from domestic and European suppliers, for material with October lead times.
And a European mill sold a cargo to Italy around €600 per tonne CPT in the week to Friday, sources said.
Market participants estimated the tradable level at €570-590 per tonne ex-works for domestic coil.
Import prices were slightly weaker compared with last week, but overall, interest in overseas coil was not booming due to pending anti-dumping investigations against certain origins and safeguards measures.
This week, HRC from India was on offer to Italy at $600 per tonne CFR, sources said.
And Turkish HRC was offered to Italy at €560 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty.
Chinese HRC, meanwhile, was on offer at €530-540 per tonne CFR to Antwerp, including the anti-dumping duty, but no bookings have been reported yet.