German vice chancellor calls for swift end to Russian steel slab imports
German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil has urged immediate action to halt the import of Russian steel slab, emphasizing the need for stricter measures against Russia ahead of the upcoming Steel Summit on Nov. 6.
“During the steel dialogue with industry representatives, we will discuss the solutions we need now: lower energy prices, primarily through the industrial electricity price, and better protection for our domestic industry,” according to Klingbeil, who is also Germany’s finance minister.
“We must prioritize the use of locally produced steel in key sectors such as our infrastructure and the automotive industry. Furthermore, there must be a swift and complete end to all steel imports from Russia. Steel slabs produced in Russia and processed further in the EU are still exempt from sanctions,” he added, according to a statement shared by Germany’s Finance Ministry.
The European Commission didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter Nov. 3.
“Despite the EU’s comprehensive sanctions, Russian steel companies are still permitted to supply semi-finished products to the EU on a large scale, which has serious consequences for steel producers in Germany and across Europe,” German Steel Federation Director General Kerstin Maria Rippel said Nov. 3.
“Given the significant import crisis currently facing the European steel industry, this exception is utterly incomprehensible,” she said, adding that “this loophole must be closed, either through sanctions or effective EU tariffs on Russian slabs.”
“This would be legally possible, even without achieving unanimity among all member states. The German government must now take a clear stance in Brussels and exert decisive pressure,” she said.
In December 2023, the EU allowed imports of Russian steel slabs to continue under a phased reduction set to run until September 2028.
The decision, made in the bloc’s 12th package of sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, allows a total quota of 10.9 million mt of Russian slab to be imported between September 2024 and September 2028, with annual decreases in the allowed volumes.
From Oct. 1, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2026, some 2.998 million mt of slab imports from Russia is to be allowed, of which around 500,000 mt has already been made, according to the European Commission website.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed Black Sea slab at $420/mt FOB on Oct. 29, unchanged week on week.
Positive mood falters somewhat in European domestic HRC market as fresh import bookings come through
Upward sentiment in European domestic hot-rolled coil market, which has already been shaky, faltered somewhat on Monday November 3 as several import bookings came to light.
Earlier, market participants expected import activity to minimize at the end of 2025 and early 2026 due to the uncertainty caused by the introduction of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as the policy still lacks some important details as well as following the news about the drastic changes in import rules policy, which will replace current safeguard measures.
Local mills immediately reacted with higher offers once the European Commission announced proposal for sweeping reform of its steel import safeguards in early October.
Nevertheless, customers did not hurry to accept price rises offered by mills average sales prices in October being not far from September averages.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe averaged €589.40 per tonne in October, up by €10.47 per tonne versus the average of €578.93 in September.
And Fastmarkets’ corresponding daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy reacted more sharply to the above factors , with October averaging €572.89 per tonne versus €549.41 per tonne in September.
This was because the Italian market has traditionally been more dependent on imports.
In October, producers both from Northern Europe and Italy have almost closed their order books for HRC scheduled for delivery in December and gradually opened order books for January delivery.
Nevertheless, both seller and buyer sources told Fastmarkets that trading was muted, with buyers preferring to clear their stocks by the end of the year. January delivery bookings are expected to start in a week or two.
Only minor tonnages scheduled for delivery in January were heard sold in the previous weeks, nevertheless, they were still far from mills targets.
In Northern Europe, some bookings came through at €610-620 per tonne ex-works versus mill’s targets of €620-650 per tonne ex-works.
But as more import booking were discussed to be done in the recent weeks, bullish sentiment started to dwindle.
At least three sources both on buyers’ and sellers’ side told Fastmarkets on Monday that it will be difficult for local mills to push massive sales of January-delivery coils in Northern Europe above €610 per tonne ex-works, with general assessments range varying within €590-610 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was €601.25 per tonne on Monday, down slightly from €603.75 per tonne on October 31.
The index was down by €0.75 per tonne week on week, but up by €26.25 per tonne month on month.
In Italy, limited volumes for December delivery were said to still be available at €600 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €580–590 per tonne ex-works. Meanwhile, for January delivery, mills were targeting no less than €600 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €595.00 per tonne on Monday, down by €2.50 per tonne from October 31.
The Italian index was up by €3.75 per tonne week and by €46.25 per tonne month on month.
In the import segment, several large fresh bookings came to light following a deal for 40,000 tonnes of Indonesian HRC booked in the second half of October, with the buyer said to be taking CBAM costs on themselves since the material will arrive in early 2026.
A new sale of Indonesian HRC was heard done around €480 per tonne CFR, slightly higher than preceding sales.
Additionally, around 100,000 tonnes of Indian coils were mulled to be sold within the range of $550-580 (€477-503) per tonne CFR, depending on the customer.
“The price level of imports, including all duties and CBAM, looks like €560-580 per tonne delivered as of now, and there is 99% chance that new lower quotas will not be applied at the beginning of 2026. Thus, there is no ground for local material to be priced above €600 per tonne ex-works,” an Italian producer told Fastmarkets.
Fire halts Marcegaglia CR line for ‘a few weeks’
Italian re-roller Marcegaglia plans to resume cold-rolling production at its Ravenna plant within a few weeks following a fire at the plant, a company spokesperson told McCloskey on 3 November.
Market participants reported that the fire occurred at the end of October.
“The fire, which affected one of the three cold rolling mills at the Ravenna plant, was promptly extinguished and did not involve any people. A recovery plan to restore the plant’s operations was immediately activated and is expected to be completed within a few weeks,” Marcegaglia’s spokesperson said. “Industrial and commercial agreements were also promptly activated to minimize the impact on deliveries, including in the short term.”
Italian buyers expressed concerns that the incident would reduce supply and push cold-rolled coil (CRC) prices higher.
McCloskey’s weekly marker for domestic CRC prices increased by EUR15/t week on week and EUR30/t month on month to EUR695/t ex-works Northwest Europe on 31 October.
The introduction of the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) from January 2026 has already pushed imported coil prices higher. At the same time, proposed tougher import quotas, which are expected to come into force in the first half of next year, have resulted in a reduction of offered volumes of overseas CRC.
As a result, European buyers are increasingly reliant on domestic supply. European steelmakers, however, have been reluctant to sell CRC, favouring either higher added value products such as hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) or less costly upstream products like hot-rolled coil (HRC).
Even a minor reduction of CRC availability could have a noticeable impact on the market, sources said.
UNESID: Spanish steel output down six percent in Aug 2025 from July
According to the Spanish steelmakers association UNESID, in August this year Spain’s steel production totaled 817,000 mt, dropping by six percent month on month and by 8.5 percent year on year. In the January-August period of this year, the country’s steel production totaled 8.33 million mt, compared to 7.97 million mt recorded in the same period of 2024.
In the given month, the Spanish steel industry recycled 625,000 mt of scrap to be used for new steel products, down by 2.3 percent compared to the previous month and by 5.7 percent year on year. In the first eight months of the current year, the industry recycled 6.57 million mt of scrap.
Producer prices in French industry down 0.2 percent in September 2025 from August
In September this year, producer prices in French industry were down by 0.2 percent month on month and up by 0.1 percent year on year, according to the statistics released by France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). Producer prices for manufactured products in France rose by 0.1 percent in September compared to August and were up by 1.2 percent year on year.
In the given month, prices for exported manufactured products decreased by 0.2 percent and prices of exported transport equipment declined by 0.3 percent, both month on month. On year-on-year basis, in September prices of exported manufactured products went down by 0.4 percent, while prices of exported transport equipment increased by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, import prices for manufactured products in France in September increased by 0.1 percent month on month and were down by 0.5 percent year on year.
ArcelorMittal completes sale of Bosnia plant
ArcelorMittal has completed the sale of ArcelorMittal Zenica and ArcelorMittal Prijedor, its steel and mining operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to H&P d.o.o. Zvornik, part of the Pavgord Group, Kallanish learns.
The sale was first announced in June, following the signing of a sale and purchase agreement (see Kallanish 20 June).
Earlier, ArcelorMittal said that it has made considerable investments and efforts to keep ArcelorMittal Zenica and ArcelorMittal Prijedor within the group.
“However, after a thorough strategic review, the company concluded that a sale is the best solution for the development of the business and its people,” it adds.
Under the terms of the transaction, ArcelorMittal’s shares in ArcelorMittal Zenica and ArcelorMittal Prijedor will be sold to Pavgord Group, and all employees’ jobs are transferred to the new owner. Net of sale proceeds, the company expects to record a non-cash loss on disposal of approximately $200 million, including foreign exchange losses recorded in equity since the date of acquisition.
“We acknowledge the support of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the government of the Federation and Republika Srpska, during the 21 years that the company has been operating in the country,” ArcelorMittal vice president and chief executive Sanjay Samaddar stated in June. “We believe the company will continue to be a major contributor to the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina and we thank all our employees at ArcelorMittal Zenica and ArcelorMittal Prijedor for their hard work and passionate engagement during all these years and wish them all the best for the future, as well as to Pavgord Group in this new phase.”
ArcelorMittal Zenica is the largest producer of long products in the Balkans with a capacity of 700,000 tonnes/year. The basic product range includes rebar in bars and coils, wire rod, mesh and lattice girders.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
Thyssenkrupp Steel appoints Marie Jaroni new chief executive
Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe has appointed chief sales and chief transformation officer Marie Jaroni as its new chief executive, effective 1 November, after the contract with predecessor Dennis Grimm was terminated by mutual agreement, the steelmaker says.
Grimm, who never took the ceo title, instead leading the company as spokesman of the executive board and chief operating officer, was rumoured to be stepping down earlier in the week.
Jaroni, who only joined tk Steel’s executive board in October 2024, has also had her contract extended for five years from 1 November 2025. Chief financial officer Philipp Conze has also had his contract extended for the same duration.
Grimm “assumed responsibility for the steel business at thyssenkrupp during a challenging phase and, in addition to numerous operational improvements, played a decisive role in shaping a new industrial concept and initiating the urgently needed restructuring. The Supervisory Board would like to express its gratitude to Dennis Grimm and wishes him all the best and continued success,” says tk Steel supervisory board chairwoman Ilse Henne.
Jaroni assumes interim responsibility for production operations, strategic corporate management, and additional functional areas. The position of chief production officer will be filled in a structured process as soon as possible. Jaroni’s hitherto responsibilities will be taken over on an interim basis by the current head of sales, Georgios Giovanakis.
“Marie Jaroni has succeeded in setting the course for steel with strategic vision, persuasiveness, and great commitment. With her transition to the CEO position, she now has the opportunity to lead thyssenkrupp Steel into a successful future with her management team,” Henne notes.
Jaroni “conducted the crucial negotiations on the restructuring collective agreement in a goal-oriented, consensus-driven, and fair manner. The same applies to the ongoing discussions on the conclusion of the company agreements. This has created a strong foundation of trust for her new role. Philipp Conze stands for the transparency and clarity we need on the way forward,” says supervisory board deputy chairman Knut Giesler.
Adam Smith Austria