European STEEL HRC buyers digest higher offers; spot market still at standstill
European prices for steel hot-rolled coil were stable to slightly higher on Thursday July 24, despite a substantial rise in offer prices announced by some suppliers. Buyers remained unconvinced of the chances of a price rebound because of insufficient end-user demand, Fastmarkets heard.
On July 23, leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal pushed its October-delivery HRC offers up by €30 per tonne to €590 ($627) per tonne delivered in Northern Europe.
Similar offers were heard from other integrated mills in the Benelux area, also for October-delivery coil.
But these new offers have not been traded yet and there was “a lot pf pushback from customers,” sources told Fastmarkets.
“There are still sufficient stocks around. Consumption is not growing,” a buyer source said.
Buyers’ ideas of tradable prices were still around €540-560 per tonne ex-works.
Some buyers even gave lower estimates of €520-550 per tonne ex-works, referring to the latest deals in the region for HRC with August-September lead times.
Mill sources claimed that €520 per tonne ex-works “could only be possible form a re-roller.”
As a result, Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was €557.50 per tonne on July 24, up by €2.50 per tonne from €555.00 per tonne on July 23.
The Northern European index was up by €6.87 per tonne week on week but was down by €18.21 per tonne month on month.
Despite recent offer price rises, industry sources expected little change in spot trading in the coming weeks due to summer holidays and maintenance closures.
“Let’s wait for September – we are now going into a waiting mode,” a supplier source said.
The market situation in Italy was similar.
Local suppliers also pushed for higher offers, to around €540-550 per tonne ex-works for September -October delivery HRC, while buyers’ price ideas were no higher than €520-530 per tonne ex-works.
European mills were offering October-delivery HRC to Italy at €580 per tonne delivered.
One buyer source estimated the market even lower, at €510-530 per tonne ex-works. Mill sources, however, said that sales at the lower end of the prie range “were no longer possible.”
“The latest bookings for September [delivery] were closed around €520-530 [ex-works]. After buyers had booked the tonnages they needed to re-open in September, trading fell quiet again,” a mill source said. “We need to increase [HRC prices] to at least €540-550 [per tonne].”
Even though order books at local suppliers were “much better now,” market sources said, the viability of the post-summer uptrend was still in question.
Some supplier sources were counting on the introduction of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2026 to curb import flows and thereby act as support for a domestic price rebound in the fourth quarter. In addition, new steel trade measures to replace existing steel safeguard measures, expected to be presented by the European Commission later this year, were also seen as a supportive factor.
Buyers, for their part, remained cautious about the potential benefits of CBAM and new trade measures, with some expressing skepticism about any possible price increases due to the continuing weak demand and strong import competition, particularly in the HRC market.
“There are plenty of [HRC] tonnages already in the ports and more will be customs-cleared before the year’s end,” a buyer in Italy said. “Besides, some imports will still be competitive even with CBAM costs on top – just due to lower costs of production outside Europe.”
As a result, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, was calculated at €527.50 per tonne on Thursday, up by just €0.62 per tonne from €526.88 per tonne on Wednesday.
The index was also up by €3.12 per tonne week on week, but down by €20.83 per tonne month on month.
Import HRC offers to Europe have remained stable so far, but industry sources were not ruling out an uptrend in the overseas coil market as well, considering positive sentiment and a “futures rally” in the Asian market.
HRC offers from Asia to Italy were heard at €450-500 per tonne CFR and from Turkey at €480-500 per tonne CFR, including anti-dumping duty.
Bandstahl Hagen plans major warehousing and processing investment
German steel service centre Bandstahl Hagen is planning a major enlargement of warehousing and processing capacities. Its parent, industrial group Niedax, has lined up a double-digit million euro investment for this purpose, Kallanish hears.
Bandstahl-Service-Hagen (BSH) is one of two steel service centres within the Niedax group, alongside Boecker Stahl-Service in Schwerte. The two sites process slit strip from hot-rolled wide strip, cold-rolled strip, hot-dip galvanized steel, and stainless steel. Annual volumes exceed 225,000 tonnes, with up to 130,000t of these sold in Hagen.
BSH’s 35,000-square-meter production and warehouse facilities are set to be expanded by 2030 with new, process-optimised production and warehouse facilities on a new 36,000m2 site. In addition to the construction of the new hall, the investment will also be used for automation and increased use of artificial intelligence to optimise existing production processes, the parent group notes.
“We have confidence in our steel service centres in the Ruhr region,” says Niedax chief executive Bruno Reufels. “By purchasing a new splitting machine and using AI-controlled technology, we aim to achieve significantly more efficient processes and double the volume processed.”
Both SSCs play a strategically important role within the company’s value chain. Their steel is not only supplied to industrial companies for further processing but used primarily for the manufacture of the company’s own cable trays, which is the core business of the Niedax Group.
Niedax is furthermore involved in a project to build a secure, high-performance glass fibre network in Germany using the cable management systems.
Christian Koehl Germany
EUROMETAL meets with DG TAXUD to discuss CBAM and Steel Derivatives
Last Thursday, 24 July, EUROMETAL President Alexander Julius and Director General Ricardo Silva held a virtual meeting with Mr. Gerassimos Thomas, Director-General of DG TAXUD (European Commission), to discuss two pressing concerns facing the steel distribution and manufacturing sectors: the implementation of CBAM and the trade treatment of steel derivatives.
During the exchange, EUROMETAL reiterated member concerns regarding the commercial uncertainty caused by the lack of benchmark values (for BOF and EAF routes) and the evolving role of the ETS price in CBAM calculations. EUROMETAL underlined that European manufacturers are already contracting steel imports for 2026 and require price clarity today, as many operate under fixed-price procurement models. The absence of key input values risks disrupting supply chains, especially as suppliers are unable to offer binding quotes for future deliveries.
Additionally, EUROMETAL informed DG TAXUD of its joint initiative with national distributor federations and EUROFER to advocate for equal protection for steel derivatives under EU trade measures. Currently excluded from safeguard and anti-dumping regimes, these downstream products are entering the EU at unsustainably low prices, undermining both EU processors and manufacturers. Insolvency rates in affected segments are rising sharply, reportedly reaching up to 15% per month in some cases.
EUROMETAL reaffirmed its commitment to working constructively with the European Commission to ensure that the full steel value chain — including distribution and downstream transformation — is effectively supported in the EU’s trade and decarbonisation policies.
Luxembourg government eyes Liberty Dudelange acquisition, site repurposing
The Luxembourg government has submitted an acquisition offer to the court-appointed liquidator for bankrupt galvanizer and service centre Liberty Steel Dudelange. It aims to repurpose the site for another use and not resume steel operations.
According to Luxembourg’s Ministry of Economy, following nearly three years of production stoppage, the site presents a strategic opportunity for redevelopment. The objective, according to a ministry note obtained by Kallanish, is to optimise land use and repurpose the facility to support industrial renewal and drive economic growth.
“If this offer is accepted, the Ministry of the Economy will proceed with the development of the land with the aim of establishing new industrial activities and promoting the creation of high value-added jobs. The government will also consider the possibility of dedicating part of the site to defence-related projects,” the note says.
No other buyers have emerged for the Dudelange site, nor for Liberty Steel’s Liège facility. Despite ongoing efforts to identify potential investors, both sites remain without viable acquisition prospects, largely due to structural challenges in the European steel market and restrictive trade conditions.
In May, the sales process for the Dudelange plant was suspended after rumoured bidder Tosyali reportedly withdrew its interest. A recent visit by another potential buyer reportedly took place at the Dudelange site, though the interested party is also said to be based outside the EU.
The EU quota system is a major obstacle to any acquisition of both the Dudelange and Liège sites. The fundamental issue lies in its restricted ability to import hot rolled coil feedstock from outside the EU, which significantly undermines the site’s competitiveness and operational viability.
Natalia Capra France