Day: 22 July 2026

ArcelorMittal is raising its long product prices by €25/tonne ($28.5/t) for commodity grade sections, rebar and wire rod, market sources tell Kallanish.

The current market remains difficult for producers, with the resumption of conflict in the Middle East pushing up gas, electricity and freight costs. Other long product mills in Europe, particularly for rebar, are also raising prices ahead of the August shutdown due to soaring costs.

Several sources describe the European long product market as quiet but expect a pickup in September with higher prices as activity resumes. One source expects this to be supported by the impact of the sharply reduced quota allocations on certain products such as wire rod and rebar, particularly for Eastern European countries accustomed to importing large volumes.

Scrap prices fell this month but are seen to have bottomed out. Many EU countries are now entering the summer holiday and maintenance shutdown period, with activity reduced and contracts being concluded for small tonnages only.

In June this year, Germany’s crude steel output increased by 9.5 percent year on year to 2.93 million mt, according to data released by the German Steel Federation (WV Stahl). In the first half of 2026, Germany’s crude steel production rose by 8.9 percent year on year to 18.63 million mt.

In June, Germany’s pig iron output amounted to 1.73 million mt, up 6.3 percent year on year, while production in the January-June period increased by 9.3 percent to 11.63 million mt.

Meanwhile, the country’s hot rolled steel output rose by eight percent year on year to 2.69 million mt in June and increased by 5.4 percent to 16.11 million mt in the first six months of the year.

WV Stahl says recovery remains fragile

WV Stahl stated that despite the positive developments seen in recent months, it is still too early to declare a full recovery. The federation noted that annual crude steel production currently stands at 37.7 million mt, remaining below the 40 million mt threshold generally considered necessary for adequate capacity utilization across the steel industry. It also warned that the recent improvement does not yet indicate a sustainable recovery, adding that annual crude steel output is still projected to reach only around 37 million mt, below the level considered necessary for economically viable capacity utilization.

According to Kerstin Maria Rippel, CEO of WV Stahl, the increase in production mainly reflects a technical rebound, including inventory replenishment, rather than a genuine recovery in steel demand. She stated that demand from Germany’s main steel-consuming sectors, including construction, mechanical engineering and the automotive industry, has remained too weak to support a sustained recovery.

Federation welcomes new EU steel trade defense measures

Rippel also highlighted continued pressure from steel imports into the EU during the first half of the year. Against this backdrop, she welcomed the EU’s new steel trade defense instrument, which entered into force on July 1 and introduces country- and product-specific tariff-rate quotas, with imports exceeding those quotas becoming subject to an additional 50 percent tariff.

According to Rippel, the measure is essential for safeguarding steel production in Germany and the wider EU, ensuring that any future recovery in demand benefits European steel producers through higher capacity utilization.

WV Stahl calls for stronger demand and lower energy costs

Rippel stressed that additional measures are needed to stimulate domestic demand. She called for the rapid implementation of planned public investments, including projects financed under Germany’s Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality (SVIKG), arguing that these investments should be directed toward projects that strengthen industrial value creation, resilience and climate neutrality in Germany and across the EU.

The WV Stahl CEO further emphasized the importance of public procurement policy, calling for procurement rules that consider sustainability, security of supply and local industrial value creation alongside price. She stated that a binding “Made in EU” criterion would be particularly important in ensuring that public infrastructure investments help create lead markets for low-emission industrial materials.

In addition, Rippel reiterated that improving Germany’s industrial competitiveness requires lower energy costs. She called for a reliable industrial electricity price of €50/MWh, including grid charges, taxes and levies. Rippel also urged the German government to fully maintain, stabilize and further develop existing measures, including the grid fee subsidy, electricity price compensation scheme and industrial electricity price support, while allowing these mechanisms to be combined.

Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) edged downward slightly in Northern Europe on Tuesday July 21, but trading activity was slow in the region, sources told Fastmarkets. Prices remained stable in Italy, with market participants citing weak market sentiment amid the approaching summer holiday time.

In Northern Europe, a buyer reported an indication of workable levels at €700-710 ($800-811) per tonne ex-works and an offer at €730-740 per tonne ex-works for fourth-quarter delivery. The higher offer was discarded due to the lack of buying interest at that level and the longer delivery lead time.

However, a second buyer said they did not believe €700 per tonne ex-works “has been achieved in reality yet” but could not provide an indication of tradable levels. “Summer vacations [are having an effect], plus the dust has to settle from the customs clearance matters first,” the same source added.

Due to a lack of fresh input from market participants, price data collected on July 20 was carried over to Tuesday’s index, in line with Fastmarkets’ methodology.

On Monday, a buyer source reported offers at €720-725 per tonne ex-works. A supplier reported deals at €705 per tonne ex-works on the same day, while offers reached €730 per tonne ex-works. The higher offer level was not considered in the index due to the lack of buying interest.

Additionally, all buyer-side price points included in Tuesday’s index were copied over to the sell side.

Market activity was slow on July 21, with trade sources citing weak demand during the approaching summer holiday period.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €712.29 per tonne on July 21, down by €1.46 per tonne from €713.75 per tonne on July 20.

The index was up by €2.29 per tonne week on week and up by €26.03 per tonne month on month.

In Italy, a trade source reported a deal from a major supplier at €700-710 per tonne ex-works for September delivery, adding that they expected a “big step would happen in September after [the summer] vacation.”

A second trader reported indications of workable levels at €710-720 per tonne ex-works. However, no transactions were reported within that range, while trading activity remained limited amid weak market sentiment. As a result, the price was not given sufficient weight to influence Tuesday’s index.

On July 20, a seller reported a deal at €700 per tonne ex-works, which was carried over to Tuesday’s index, in line with Fastmarkets’ methodology.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel HRC index domestic, exw Italy was €702.50 per tonne on Tuesday, unchanged day on day.

The index was up by €3.12 per tonne week on week and up by €20 per tonne month on month.

Despite earlier promises, the European Commission’s proposed reform of the ETS carbon market did not include provisions to support EU exporters of goods covered by the CBAM tax on carbon-intensive goods.

EU steel lobby Eurofer said this long-awaited proposal “is still missing”.

While CBAM shields EU producers of goods such as steel and fertilisers from imports, industry argues that it leaves exporters exposed.

For Fertilizers Europe, the reform’s proposal to delay, from 2034 to 2038, a phase-out of free ETS allowances for CBAM-covered sectors is not enough.

The lobby group Cement Europe reiterated its support for the phase-out — provided CBAM protections are “watertight … both for imports and exports”.

The Business for CBAM Coalition of firms investing in industrial decarbonisation said the proposal punishes companies that invested in greener technologies while failing to protect exporters.

The NGO Bellona said the Commission’s move “risks squandering the EU’s credibility with investors and trading partners alike”.

French Renew MEP Pascal Canfin, one of Parliament’s CBAM leads, criticised the delayed phase-out of free allowances as an “incoherent signal” as the EU considers extending the levy to new sectors.

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