European HRC prices inch down due to imports, weak demand
European hot-rolled coil market continued to face downward pressure on May 23 as falling spot demand, competitive import offers and seasonal uncertainties undermined mill attempts to stabilize prices.
In Southern Europe, tradable values were widely heard between Eur590-610/mt ex-works Italy, with some tube producers able to secure Eur580-590/mt for higher tonnages, mill and distributor sources said.
“The market is very low — prices are falling, not sharply, but steadily. Mills are trying to hold their position, but demand is very weak,” one market participant said.
Offers from key Italian producers were heard around Eur620/mt ex-works, although buyers were holding off on major purchases in anticipation of further decreases.
“Everyone is looking for a better price, so they are waiting,” one trader said, adding that prices around Eur610/mt may be possible next week.
In Northern Europe, prices showed relative stability but limited traction, with tradable values reported at Eur620-625/mt ex-works Ruhr.
Market participants noted that European mills, despite aiming for Eur700/mt earlier in the year, were forced to accept lower levels to maintain order books.
“The correction was triggered by a major mill; others followed,” another source said.
Import offers continued to exert strong pressure, especially from Indonesia, where coil was being offered at Eur500-510/mt CIF Italy and Eur520-525/mt CIF Antwerp. While some pipemakers secured large volumes from Indonesian suppliers, smaller buyers remained cautious due to long lead times and limited sizing flexibility.
“Not everyone is satisfied with the quality, but in general, it’s acceptable,” a second trader said.
Market outlook remained soft heading into summer, with most participants expecting HRC base prices in Italy to fall below Eur600/mt ex-works in the coming weeks.
“There’s a lot of stock with the mills and not much consumption — maybe things will pick up again in October,” one distributor said.
Platts assessed domestic HRC in Southern Europe at Eur605/mt ex-works Italy, down Eur5 day on day, and HRC in Northwest Europe at Eur630/mt ex-works Ruhr, stable on the day.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Southern Europe at Eur520/mt CIF Italy and in Northern Europe at Eur530/mt CIF Antwerp, both down Eur5 on the day.
EU metal associations refrain to comment on possible 50% US tariffs until formalized
European metal associations have held off from commenting on US President Donald Trump’s May 23 threat to impose tariffs of 50% on all goods from the EU from June 1, as the tariffs have not been formalized.
In a May 23 Truth Social post, Trump recommended a straight 50% tariff starting June 1, saying there was no tariff if a product was manufactured in the US.
In the post, Trump said that US discussions with the EU were “going nowhere ” and that the EU was “difficult to deal with.”
“Their powerful trade barriers, VAT taxes, ridiculous corporate penalties, non-monetary trade barriers, monetary manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against American companies, and more, have led to a trade deficit with the US of more than $250 million/year, a number which is totally unacceptable,” Trump said.
Eurometaux Director General James Watson told Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, that 50% tariffs were fundamentally bad news for all sectors and the nonferrous metals sector was no different.
“This will destabilize global metal value chains and run the risk of leading to job losses and capacity reductions in our sector not just in Europe but in the US too. What we need now is the exact opposite of this tariff policy,” he said.
A European steel association, Eurofer, spokesperson said the association would not comment at this stage, while European Aluminium also declined to comment, with a spokesperson noting the tariffs had not yet been formalized.
“As always, our focus remains on fostering stable, rules-based trade relations and reinforcing the importance of transatlantic industrial cooperation,” the European Aluminium spokesperson said.
A battery materials producer source told Platts he wasn’t sure what the threat was based on.
“The US is still going to be an importer of critical raw materials. It’s just Trump throwing a hand grenade and then starting to negotiate once the dust settles,” he said.
The European Commission had not yet formally reacted to Trump’s recommendation, with European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic due to meet US trade representative Jamieson Greer later on May 23.
The EU already faces the blanket 10% tariff Trump previously imposed globally, although these were paused April 9 for 90 days.
The EU is also subject to the 25% import tariff on steel and aluminum imports, which were not part of the 90-day pause, although Trump did issue an executive order April 29 ensuring automakers, steel and aluminum producers could avoid paying multiple tariffs, by preventing tariffs from being “stacked” on top of others.
It was uncertain whether, if formalized, the blanket 50% tariffs would override the existing 25% steel and aluminum tariffs.
According to Eurostat data sent to Platts by European Aluminium, the EU exported 400,212 mt of aluminum products to the US in 2024, down 2.7% year over year, of which 59,261 mt was unwrought aluminum, falling 5.1%, and 3,319 mt was aluminum waste and scrap, down 58%
The EU also imported 102,817 mt of aluminum products from the US in 2024, up 6.4% year over year, of which 14,400 mt was unwrought aluminum, up 26.9%, and 42,900 mt was aluminum waste and scrap, rising 3.4%.
The US is the second-biggest export market for EU steelmakers, representing 16% of the total EU steel exports in 2024. According to Eurofer aggregate data, total exports from the EU to US peaked at around 3.352 million mt in 2022.
In early May, the US and UK announced a trade deal, eliminating the 25% tariff on US imports of British steel and aluminum and providing tariff relief for the British auto industry.
Platts assessed domestic HRC prices in Northern Europe at Eur630/mt ex-works Ruhr May 22, up 12.5% since the start of 2025.
Steel rebar prices in Europe show mixed dynamics
Offers from mills in the North varied within the range of €540-565 ($611-640) per tonne ex-works, versus €550-570 per tonne ex-works a week earlier, while in the South prices were €565-580 per tonne ex-works, down from €570-600 per tonne last week.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Italy, was €540-580 per tonne on May 21, down from €550-600 per tonne on May 14.
After the assessment was filed, a source from Italy said that some bookings had been heard at €530 per tonne ex-works in the north of the country.
“It seems as if Italian producers are spearheading the price decline in rebar in Europe, and Germany is resistant to following,” a source from Northern Europe said.
In the Netherlands and Germany, rebar offers remained at €680 per tonne delivered and higher, although estimates of workable prices were in the range of €630-655 per tonne delivered.
After the filing of Fastmarkets’ price assessment for rebar in Northern Europe, information came to light about local rebar being available around €640 per tonne delivered, and Italian material offers at €635 per tonne delivered.
But because this information came to light after the price collection window had closed, the price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, remained at €655-680 per tonne on May 21.
BIR: 2025 to remain challenging for stainless sector
Market conditions for the stainless steel industry are not expected to improve in the coming months amid seasonal lows and a sluggish price environment, with considerable challenges expected for the duration of 2025, Kallanish learns.
Joost van Kleef, chairman of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Stainless Steel & Special Alloys Committee, representing Oryx Stainless made the comments in the latest BIR Stainless Mirror.
Elsewhere, Ruggero Ricco, chief executive of Nichel Leghe, has indicated that there is currently minimal evidence suggesting a near-term reversal of the sector’s prolonged downturn.
“The lack of strength in European domestic demand is pushing stainless steel mills to lower prices in a bid to steal customers from each other. This race to the bottom favours Indonesian products, which are much cheaper than integral production with European scrap.” Ricco states.
The scrap market is experiencing a significant decline in both prices and volumes, primarily due to a preference by EU producers for Indonesian nickel pig iron as a more cost-effective solution.
Europe is currently examining its production strategy, evaluating scrap use against the possibility of transitioning to nickel pig iron or direct acquisition of slabs, Ricco argues. For the past six months, scrap prices and sales volumes have been falling in Europe while the US tariffs have considerably impacted the stainless steel market, with Asian nations redirecting their shipments to Europe and other countries, Ricco points out.
The European stainless flat and long markets are facing a significant downturn, characterised by weak order intake across the entire value chain and a persistent downward trajectory in stainless steel coil and derivatives, longs and scrap. Both coil and long product mills in Europe are decreasing their prices and report high stocks (see Kallanish passim).
Multiple sources in the scrap sector, including Ricco, tell Kallanish they expect further declines in the most popular stainless scrap grades, such as 304, in June as values are beginning to fall below €1,200/tonne ($1,355/t) delivered.
Natalia Capra France
Unesid: Workweek reduction would undermine Spanish steel sector
Spain’s steel industry warns that a proposed cut to the national workweek could severely undermine production, raise costs and threaten thousands of jobs, Kallanish notes.
The proposed legislation would shorten the working week from 40 to 37.5 hours. Such a change could have “devastating and irreversible” consequences for the steel industry, according to the steelmakers’ association Unesid. If passed, the law would increase labour costs and reduce operational flexibility, especially in energy-intensive sectors such as steelmaking. It could put thousands of high-quality jobs at risk and force production cuts and shift reductions, according to Unesid’s director of organisation and human resources, Gema Palazón.
She notes that in the current context of economic uncertainty and industrial weakness in Europe, which has prompted the EU to rethink its production model, the measure threatens to further undermine the Spanish steel industry. The sector is already under pressure from international competition and the costly demands of decarbonisation and industrial transformation.
“If this law is approved, the consequences could be devastating and irreversible for the steel industry, putting thousands of stable, high-quality jobs at risk,” Palazón comments.
Some supporters argue that large companies will remain unaffected. However, the Unesid executive stresses that reduced working hours will directly impact the operational flexibility of steel plants.
“Cutting working hours will inevitably lead to adjustments in production activity and employment. If production must align with the shorter workweek, we will see reduced output, fewer shifts, and plant shutdowns,” Palazón explains.
This would result in a lower domestic supply of essential products like steel, whose production continues to decline despite a 6.5% increase in consumption last year. To meet demand, Spain would have to increase imports, negatively affecting GDP and the national economy.
“This could mean the end of the steel industry in Spain,” Palazón concludes.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
Longs suppliers in Romania keep offers stable, local demand still limited
Following the election held last weekend, which resulted in stable currency exchange rate levels, Romanian long steel spot traders have opted to keep prices unchanged week on week.
However, in terms of trading activities, players stated that local demand has not demonstrated any improvement and has remained steady, albeit at limited levels, this week.
On the other hand, the sole Romanian rebar producer which is not presently producing has no new offers, so the previous offers have continued to be heard, but, according to sources, there is not much interest in the sole producer owing to a lack of essential materials.
Currently, the majority of traders have kept their rebar prices unchanged week on week at €595-610/mt ex-warehouse, with their wire rod offers stable at €580-595/mt ex-warehouse. Meanwhile, as previously stated, the sole Romanian rebar producer has not made any fresh offers, and earlier offers of roughly €590-605/mt ex-works continue to be heard in the market, stable week on week.
Furthermore, there have been some import offers this week, though interest from Romanian traders has remained minimal. According to sources, offers for rebar from Bulgaria have remained stable at €610-630/mt CPT. Likewise, Egypt has also kept its rebar and wire rod offer prices unchanged at €510-520/mt CPT and €535-545/mt CPT, respectively. Greece, on the other hand, has offered rebar and wire rod at €605/mt CFR and €595/mt CFR, respectively. Meanwhile, Turkey’s average rebar price has also remained stable week on week at €515-530/mt CFR Romania, with a €1 = $1.13 exchange rate and around €25-30/mt freight.
German crude steel output down 11.9 percent in Jan-Apr
In April this year, Germany’s crude steel output went down by 10.1 percent year on year to 2.95 million metric tons, according to the information provided by the German Steel Federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl).
In the first four months of this year, crude steel production in Germany declined by 11.9 percent year on year to 11.45 million mt.
In the given month, Germany’s pig iron output amounted to 1.86 million mt, down by 11.2 percent, while in the January-April period it decreased by 14.6 percent to 7.18 million mt, both on year-on-year basis.
In April, the country’s hot rolled steel output fell by 8.6 percent year on year to 2.49 million mt, while dropping by 10.4 percent to 10.13 million mt in the first four months this year, both compared to the same periods of the previous year.