Day: 14 October 2026

The World Steel Association (worldsteel) announced the newly elected members of its Executive Board of Directors for the 2026/2027 period on October 13.

The association elected Hadeed CEO Abdulqader Almubarak as its new chairman, while Çolakoğlu Metalurji CEO Uğur Dalbeler, who chaired the association during the previous term, was elected vice-chair. Nippon Steel president and COO Tadashi Imai was elected as the other vice-chair, while EMSTEEL group CEO Saeed Al Remeithi was named Audit Committee chair.

Bangladesh’s Anwar Ispat and China’s Hunan Iron and Steel Group joined as regular members, while UAE-based Metaluck Global Resources and Steel Producers Committee, alongside the Uzbekistan Metallurgy Association, were admitted as affiliated members.

Trading remained muted in the European domestic HRC market on Tuesday October 13 with market participants reporting sufficient stocks and little urgency to restock, while prices were largely unchanged.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at €746.25 ($834.39) on October 13, up by €4.58 per tonne from €741.67 on October 12.

The index was up by €1.25 per tonne week on week and similarly month on month.

A seller source provided an indication of tradeable level within the range of €740-750 per tonne ex-works.

A buyer source reported an indication of tradeable level within the range of €740-760 per tonne ex-works.

A second buyer source provided an indication within the range of €740-750 per tonne ex-works.

Sources said that the market remains largely quiet with limited trading activity. They added that stocks remain high with some service centers in the region still using foreign material booked earlier at lower prices, which is preventing prices from rising as expected.

A seller source even mentioned that stocks are high enough to affect purchasing in 2027. However, market participants’ mood in general was that towards the end of 2026 prices should increase somewhat amid restocking activity and lower import volumes due to the effect of safeguard measures.

The Italian market was also said to be quiet despite limited availability of the material with few deals heard during the day made within the range of €740-750 per tonne ex-works, whereas offers were heard up to €760 per tonne ex-works.

“Stocks are still too high. We will see more demand around December I guess,” one buyer said.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €740 per tonne on October 12, down by €2.50 per tonne from €742.50 per tonne on October 9.

The index was down by €0.31 per tonne week on week but up by €9.69 per tonne month on month.

Norway has lined up NOK 244 million ($25m) to support the establishment of a circular value chain in which steel from decommissioned ships is recovered and recertified for use in new buildings, Kallanish hears.

The money will be granted by state-owned development organisation Enova to the partners in the project, metals recycler Nordic Circles and processor company Alsaker Stål, part of Tertnes Holding.

“We know that buildings can be made using steel from ships because this has been tested in a number of pilot projects,” says Astrid Lilliestråle, director of technology and market development at Enova. “We are now supporting efforts to explore how new technology can make this commercially viable.”

Every year, 10 million tonnes of steel from European ships are scrapped, mainly in Asia, Enova notes. If successful, the new project could represent a significant industrial opportunity for Norway and Europe, the organisation says.

Enova estimates that recovering steel from decommissioned European ships could reduce emissions from European steel production by up to 17mt of CO₂ annually, provided that all the steel is used in new buildings.

“I am pleased that we can now use steel from old ships in new buildings. This could create new jobs in Norway and provide Europe’s steel industry with a local and reliable supply of steel,” says Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment, Sigrun Aasland.

Brazil’s Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) has agreed to sell its German subsidiary, Stahlwerk Thüringen (SWT), to Spain’s Megasa Group.

The companies have signed a non-binding agreement setting key terms and conditions for the sale of a 100% share in SWT. The transaction will be carried out through CSN Steel, the Spanish company that controls CSN’s European assets in Europe, and Megasa subsidiary Bipadosa, Kallanish learns from the Brazilian steelmaker.

The agreement provides for an exclusivity period of up to ten weeks. The deal is valued at €550 million ($616.2m).

SWT is a long steel manufacturer. Its plant in Unterwellenborn has an installed production capacity of 1.1 million tonnes/year of steel. The company became part of CSN in 2012.

The Brazilian company is currently executing a divestment programme aimed at lowering indebtedness and optimising its assets in line with strategic financial objectives.

Northwestern European sections mills and distributors are both seeking to keep current price levels firm towards year-end.

The prices for sections category 1, as seen from mills and buyers, are in the range of €830-850/tonne ($928-950/t). Mills are striving for €850/t, but deals are often struck at around €830/t, both sides confirm. Prices are also expected to remain firm in the coming weeks. Sources note that low offers from Spain in summer have prevented domestic mills from being able to increase prices too sharply.

Currently, distributors, too, feel that they can largely maintain their sale prices, which is unusual in the fourth quarter when they try to deplete their inventories for the end of the year. “In our group, we are clearly advised to bring the inventories down to one third by the end of December,” one source tells Kallanish. This year, however, distributors are not selling out at bargain offers, as they have kept their inventories low for quite a while, in an environment of modest demand.

This is followed by a period of replenishment at the beginning of the year. Mills might still accept orders for delivery this year for another three to four weeks. Pretty soon, the run for delivery in the first quarter of 2027 will kick off, one manager remarks. This is why mills can keep their prices stable for little while, even if demand does not recover on a large scale, he says.