Year: 2026

Northwestern European mills are gearing up for another rebar price hike but have yet to announce it. Unlike most Italian rebar makers, the northwestern mills are still withholding announcements, using last week’s Wire + Tube trade fair in Düsseldorf as orientation for the next step, observers say.

“My last base price offer was still €400/tonne [$473] from March,” says a Dutch manager who plans to buy several thousand tonnes and held various talks at the fair. He and others expect an upward move by €30-40 going forward, but mills have so far not been clear. “They told me they’d need some more time; it’s a difference if you hear it [offer] in a chat, or get it on paper,” he tells Kallanish.

The market is currently suspended between rising production costs for mills and a sustained reluctance in downstream manufacturing and construction industries to decide on investment. The situation has worsened with the start of the war in Iran.

A couple of German sources still believe in the €400/t quote, simply because they have not heard different yet, as mills remain silent. But others dismiss that, seeing €430/t as the next realistic step; some even suggest that offers could reach €450/t.

One Austrian participant considers €450 to be too high, but is also preparing for €430-440. “I expect mills to come out clearly this week after the Wire fair,” he says. It would be unusual for northern mills to stay below Italian offers, which at the same price figure are effectively higher, as they quote ex-works, while the northern offers are quoted delivered.

One Austrian mill is seen offering halfway, with its latest offer of €420. However, that mill has since last year quoted an exceptional size extra for standard gauge 12mm, moved from €265 up to €280. Therefore, its final delivered price of €700 is already at the mark targeted from south to north.

More deals for domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Northwest Europe were settled at lower prices in the week to 17 April as some steelmakers need to fill their production lines. 

Contrary to earlier market expectations that European mills would increase offers during the Dusseldorf Tube & Wire trade fair held on 13-17 April, target prices have not changed, and some mills continued to give discounts. Other steelmakers, however, are understood to be mulling raising offers by around EUR20/t next week.

Target prices for domestic HRC remained at EUR720-750/t delivered across the EU.

In Northwest Europe, deals have been settled at EUR680-700/t ex-works, with higher number of transactions heard closer to the upper end of the range.

A major steelmaker concluded a deal for 40,000 tonnes of June shipment HRC at EUR685/t delivered to a big buyer in Northwest Europe. This price is the equivalent of around EUR660/t ex-works, according to market sources. Such prices, however, were not available for smaller lots.

Market sources cited lack of demand recovery and the restart of blast furnaces (BFs) in France in Poland as a reason for some price softening.

The geopolitical situation in the Middle East also contributed to concerns regarding demand development. Notably, regarding rising prices and scarcity of plastic car components caused by oil shipment interruptions, as well as disruption of aluminium supply are harming steel demand from automotive industry.

Despite the demand fears majority of the market participants do not view recent deals as a drastic change of trend and they expect prices to remain stable or even pickup in the second half of the year. The reduction of quotas coming into force from 1 July could drive domestic prices higher, sources said.

“There is lack of clarity in the market, so every minor change is used an excuse for pessimism, but this will change as soon as we see the new quota system. Demand is normal, it is not improving, but we also do not know what quota distribution will be between the countries,” a trader said.

The European Council presidency and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on a new regulation aimed at tackling the negative effects of global overcapacity on the EU steel market, the European Commission announced in a press release 13 April.

The EU authorities have not disclosed a full proposal of the new measures, including the country-specific quotas, details on melt-and-poured clause, unused quota carryover, etc.

In Italy, where the market is more dependent on access to imports, domestic prices have remained unchanged at around EUR700/t ex-works.

Green steel market

While activity in the spot green steel market remained muted as buyers focused on dealing with the changes in the traditional steel market, higher demand was reported from construction projects.

Spot market premiums have been heard at EUR80-100/t, reaching around EUR160/t for projects or deals with end users.

Offered premiums were reported at around EUR200/t from both existing installations and projects currently under construction.

Author: Benjamin Steven and Maria Tanatar

opisnet.com

McCloskey was on the ground with steel industry participants at the Tube and Wire Trade Fair in Dusseldorf, April 13-17, navigating the climate of uncertainty currently plaguing the European steel market.

The rules of the European steel market are being actively re-written – from the incoming intensification of the EU’s steel trade quotas (half the volume, double the duty), and the definitive stage of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), to new lead-market stimulus for low-carbon steel products – European authorities have been playing something of a ‘catch-up’ game over the last year in proposing legislative remedies to Europe’s longstanding industrial competitiveness problem, with the steel sector a primary focus.

For some market participants, this influx of new rulemaking threatens to paralyze their trade flows, overwhelmed by cost risks on embedded carbon from CBAM – or fears that import material could be subject to doubled duties of 50% from 1 July, administered under country-specific quotas that still remain unclear. Many importers tell McCloskey that they have had to reduce or even completely cease importing activities in recent months, unable to find any worthwhile competitive advantage under current cost risks.

While CBAM costs have been a primary driver for the bullish trend in EU steel pricing since the start of this year, carbon cost risks are increasingly accepted by McCloskey’s market sources, especially due to the lack of control importers actually have in minimising their CBAM costs versus their suppliers.

Exporters attending the Tube and Wire fair were reasonably confident in their capacity to successfully verify their emissions data to facilitate CBAM declarations and payments on ‘actual’ emissions values, seeing the EU’s upcoming quota revision as a greater burden. After all, what is the point in preparing to meet the EU’s carbon compliance obligations if international material is unable to access the bloc’s single market regardless?

Indeed, McCloskey spoke to multiple exporters – particularly in Turkey – planning to sue European authorities for CBAM and safeguard cost uncertainties, perceiving quantifiable harm from punitive CBAM default values, CBAM verification uncertainties, and an anticipated lack of balance in quota restrictions per country under the upcoming replacement safeguard regime.

Trading sources told McCloskey that exporters were attempting to assess the practicality of selling to the EU under the new duty regime via strategies such as export licensing, but that without a detailed break-down of country-specific quotas – currently being prepared by the European Commission as an Implementing Act to the overcapacity framework proposal – the import of steel remains mostly unworkable where customs clearance cannot be guaranteed before July, risking the 50% out-of-quota duty rate.

While the European steel value chain is relatively unanimous in stressing the necessity of shielding EU industry from non-competitive pressures to at least some degree, red flags are becoming increasingly visible from downstream industries in warning of their inability to absorb the inflationary impact of limiting trade or climate protections to upstream products.

As such, steel trade and distribution association EUROMETAL held a press conference during the Tube and Wire fair, spearheading a new campaign calling on European authorities to extend upstream steel trade and climate protections – namely the replacement safeguards and CBAM – to downstream steel-containing derivative goods. Emphasising the urgency of derivatives protection – and supported by almost 400 signatories from across the EU’s steel value chain – EUROMETAL called for a ‘fix first, ask questions later’ approach to downstream steel protection, drawing comparisons with the agility and scope of the section 232 tariff framework in the US.

Steelmakers are supporting this push to extend trade and climate protections to derivatives, reportedly working behind the scenes at the association level to properly map the EU’s steel consumption by CN code, operating under the general assumption that they will actually need a surviving market to sell their steel to, in the longer-term.

From McCloskey’s conversations with downstream operators, such as in the automotive sector, any downstream extension would need to be exhaustive in scope, and at a significant tariff rate, as substitutive steel-containing derivative imports from China, for example, can already enter the EU at an ultra-competitive margin of around 30%.

Amid these almost impenetrable import uncertainties, one would expect steelmakers to have the run-of-the-fair in Dusseldorf, able to realise pre-fair HRC offer prices of EUR750/t delivered in deals. However, McCloskey in fact traced a decline in steel trading prices through the Tube and Wire fair, generally trading below EUR700/t ex-works, with a large volume deal agreed at the outset of the fair at 685/t effective delivered Germany (EUR660/t base ex-works) for June.

Steelmakers therefore appear willing to give discounts to fill orderbooks for the second quarter, preferring to fill rolling lines than maintain the strongest of price signals. It will be interesting to monitor steel pricing dynamics going forward as the steel market – and import lead times – approach 1 July, with domestic steelmaker pricing power constrained only by what downstream consumers can accept.

Author: Benjamin Steven and Maria Tanatar

opisnet.com

A broad coalition of European steel producers, distributors, processors and downstream manufacturers is urging the European Commission and EU member states to take immediate action to protect the continent’s steel and metals value chain from what it describes as an accelerating process of deindustrialisation.

The call-to-action, coordinated by EUROMETAL and supported by more than 350 companies and 40 national associations, has been formally submitted to EU governments and the European Commission. It outlines a comprehensive package of trade, energy and industrial policy measures aimed at stabilising the sector under increasingly challenging global conditions. EUROMETAL said in a statement that the initiative reflects an “unprecedented level of alignment” across the industry.

Presenting the initiative at Wire & Tube 2026 in Düsseldorf, EUROMETAL President Alexander Julius underlined the urgency of the situation, describing it as a joint effort “supported by the entire steel value chain” and warning of “the looming loss of industrial core competencies in Europe.”

Immediate trade measures at the center of industry demands

At the core of the proposal is a demand for stronger and immediately applicable trade defence instruments. The signatories are calling for a new regime to replace the current EU steel safeguard measures, including tariffs and tariff-rate quotas covering not only steel but also derivatives and steel-intensive products (CN codes 73–95).

The objective is to ensure fair competition and prevent circumvention, particularly in light of increasingly sophisticated trade diversion practices. The proposal also stresses the need to align EU measures with those already in place in major markets such as the United States and Canada.

Julius pointed to “massive cost pressures” and a lack of effective protection mechanisms as key challenges facing European companies.

CBAM extension seen as key to protecting downstream industry

A second key element is the extension of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to downstream and steel-intensive products. The signatories argue that limiting CBAM to primary steel risks shifting carbon leakage further along the value chain, undermining both industrial activity and climate objectives in Europe.

By expanding CBAM coverage, the alliance aims to prevent the relocation of value creation to third countries and to ensure that decarbonisation efforts remain economically viable within the EU.

“Made in EU” push aims to strengthen strategic autonomy

The initiative also calls for the introduction of stronger “Made in EU” requirements, particularly in public procurement and funding schemes. This includes infrastructure projects, defence procurement, tax incentives and support for e-mobility.

According to the signatories, prioritising European-produced materials is essential to preserve industrial capabilities, secure supply chains and maintain strategic autonomy in critical sectors.

Energy costs and regulatory burden weigh on competitiveness

High energy costs remain a central concern. The signatories point in particular to persistently high energy and regulatory costs in Europe, combined with global trade distortions and protectionist measures by third countries.

The call-to-action proposes reducing industrial electricity prices to a maximum of 5 ct/kWh, alongside a review of the EU Emissions Trading System and a slower phase-out of free allowances under CBAM. In addition, the alliance is calling for a reduction in regulatory burdens at both EU and national level to improve the overall competitiveness of European industry.

Julius stressed that many companies, particularly SMEs, are already under significant strain.

Millions of jobs linked to steel value chain at risk

The document highlights the broader economic implications, estimating that more than 13 million direct jobs in the steel and metals sector are at risk, with up to 65 million jobs indirectly linked to the industry.

At the press conference, Julius reinforced the scale of the issue, stating that “more than one million direct jobs” are already under acute pressure and pointing to the wider employment footprint of the metals sector across Europe.

The signatories argue that such losses would not only weaken Europe’s industrial base but also increase dependence on third countries and place additional pressure on social systems.

Policy response now decisive for Europe’s industrial future

While reaffirming support for the EU’s climate targets, the alliance emphasizes that decarbonisation must be accompanied by globally competitive framework conditions. Without this balance, the transition to low-carbon steel production could accelerate the relocation of industry rather than strengthen it within Europe.

At the press conference, Julius reiterated that the initiative reflects concerns across the entire value chain, describing it as “an European Initiative supported by the entire steel value chain.” He again pointed to “massive cost pressures” and rising strain on companies, particularly SMEs.

The call-to-action now puts the issue squarely on the political agenda in Brussels and the member states. Whether and how policymakers respond — particularly on trade defence, energy pricing and CBAM design — is likely to shape not only the future of European steelmaking, but also the broader industrial base that depends on it.

Following the press conference, moderator Gesa Gröning conducted an exclusive video interview with EUROMETAL President Alexander Julius for marketSTEEL.

The full initiative, including the option to sign the call-to-action, is available at: steelindustrynow.eu

Author: MarketSteel Editorial Team

marketsteel.com

Domestic prices in the European steel heavy plate market were mostly stable in the week to Thursday April 16, while imports into Germany saw a slight increase, sources told Fastmarkets.

Steel plate prices had previously been increasing after energy and slab costs increased following the US/Israel attacks on Iran on February 28 and its wide-ranging response across the region, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Southern Europe
Deals for Italian plate were heard in the week to Thursday at €750-780 ($876-911) per tonne ex-works, unchanged from orders a week earlier, with the lower end of the range applicable to larger volumes, while the higher end was linked to smaller lots, sources said.

One trader said that offers in Italy had reached €800-830 per tonne ex-works during the week, up from €800 per tonne ex-works, due to rising production costs, but no deals were reported.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was €750-780 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged from April 9.

On April 9, market participants reported only moderate demand for plate in Italy, while expecting higher cost pressures on re-rollers because of rising slab feedstock costs and tight slab supplies.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel slab, import, cif Italy, was $600-620 per tonne on Thursday, up from $590-620 per tonne a week earlier.

The steel plate import market was moving slowly, meanwhile, with one producer putting the workable level from Asia to Spain at €700-750 per tonne CFR, unchanged week on week.

Larger import deals in Italy were heard at €790-800 per tonne DDP from India, Japan and South Korea, sources said, but these were not included in Fastmarkets assessment, which only covers CFR prices.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel plate (8-40mm), import, cfr main port Southern Europe, was €664-700 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged from April 9.

Northern Europe
In Germany’s domestic market, steel plate was on offer at €800-830 per tonne ex-works in the week to Thursday, unchanged from previous levels, but no fresh trade were reported in a quiet market.

One trader reported an offer at €830-840 per tonne DAP Ruhr for S235 grade plate, but this was not included in the assessment, which is for ex-works material.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe, was €800-830 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged from April 9.

Plate imports into Germany were reported at €700-750 per tonne CFR for Asia-origin cargoes, while plate from Indonesia on offer at €725 per tonne CFR Antwerp.

DDP offers to Antwerp were heard at €790-800 per tonne from India, Japan and South Korea, but were not included in Fastmarkets’ CFR basis assessment.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel plate (8-40mm), import, cfr main port Northern Europe, was €700-725 per tonne on Thursday, up from €650-700 per tonne a week earlier.

Europe’s green steel market remained quiet in the week to Friday April 17, with spot activity near zero. But a couple of major green steel projects have moved forward, Fastmarkets heard.

Recent developments from Marcegaglia and Stegra point to continued investment in electric-arc furnace (EAF) technology and hydrogen-based steelmaking, while the industry works toward lowering emissions and improving supply sustainability in a difficult market environment.

Green steel projects progress
Marcegaglia
Italian re-roller Marcegaglia advanced its electric-furnace project implementation. On April 14, it awarded equipment supplier Danieli a €450 million contract for construction and spares for a new EAF and flat rolling facility in Fos-sur-Mer, France.

The project, named Mistral, has total capex in the range of €1 billion. It will include an EAF, a single strand continuous slab caster producing thick slabs, and a conventional hot strip mill.

Once completed, the new EAF will have capacity for more than 2 million tonnes per year of liquid steel and as much as 3 million tpy of stainless and carbon steel hot-rolled coil. This will cover approximately 35% of the Marcegaglia group’s total coil and slab demand, primarily supplying downstream facilities in Italy, the company said.

The company also highlighted the “green” nature of the project. The use of scrap, low carbon hot-briquetted iron (HBI) and nuclear and renewable energy will enable as much as 80% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with traditional methods.

The final investment decision on the project was expected no later than the end of 2026, following completion of the permitting process and other conditions currently in advanced negotiation with the relevant French institutions.

Marcegaglia is one of the major HRC buyers in Italy, with estimated import volumes of 4-5 million tpy.

It operates as a re-roller and can produce about 2.4 million tpy of cold-rolled coil and about 1.9 million tpy of coated coil at its Ravenna site in Italy. The company also has a plate-producing facility in San Giorgio di Nogaro, as well as tube-welding facilities in north-eastern Italy.

Stegra
On April 14, Sweden-based green steelmaker Stegra agreed in principle on €1.4 billion in new financing from a combination of new and existing investors to complete the construction of its large-scale green steel plant in Boden, Sweden.

As for overall financing, Stegra earlier announced funding of about €6.5 billion. This includes €250 million from the EU innovation fund and a public grant in Sweden. A public grant in Sweden was approved for €265 million. And €143 million has been fulfilled through the Industrial Leap program

Industry sources told Fastmarkets that Stegra has completed around 60-70% of the construction work, with production expected to commence around the first half of 2027. Stegra, however, did not confirm that when contacted by Fastmarkets. “We have not gone out with new numbers on project completion [construction works is only a part of that, which also includes engineering and procurement] and we have also clarified that the timeline is under review,” a spokesperson told Fastmarkets on April 17.

Capacity for direct-reduction iron (DRI) was expected to amount to 2.1 million tonnes, with 2.5 million tpy of HRC capacity planned. By 2030, the plant was expected to produce about 5 million tpy of green steel and use an electrolysis capacity of 700MW.

The company also planned to sell green DRI/HBI in the European market, with some volumes already sold, Fastmarkets heard.

“We are selling the surplus HBI to other steelmakers until we have phase 2 completed and then we will consume it ourselves,” the spokesperson said.

Buyers reluctant to pay premiums for green steel
Meanwhile, spot market demand for reduced-emissions steel was still constrained, with buyers unwilling to absorb high premiums.

Market sources cited both pricing pressures and the lack of clear, harmonized definitions and standards in Europe as barriers to wider adoption.

Under Fastmarkets’ methodology, European green flat steel refers to material produced with combined Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions not exceeding 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel.

According to buyers, workable premiums for reduced-emissions steel were generally in the range of €100-150 per tonne, with some deals reported concluded at minimal or zero premiums for strategic or branding considerations. Producers, however, argued that viable premiums should be closer to €150-170 per tonne.

A mill source reported small-tonnage deals for 100-500 tonnes done with premiums at €150-160 per tonne, but admitted that interest in green products overall remained weak.

As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment of the green steel domestic, flat-rolled, differential to HRC index, exw Northern Europe, was little changed week on week at a premium of €100-160 per tonne on April 16, widening upward from €100-150 per tonne seven days earlier.

The corresponding weekly green steel, differential to steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, narrowed €0-25 per tonne on April 15, from €0-30 per tonne per tonne on April 8.

Fastmarkets’ methodology defines European green long steel as steel produced with Scope 1, 2 or 3 emissions at a maximum of 0.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions per tonne of steel.

One German producer noted that there has recently been some increase in local interest in green material, but normally demand comes from Nordic countries and the UK. Nevertheless, customers were not ready to pay any premiums.

Another supplier said that the company was charging €25-50 per tonne premium for its material with reduced carbon content, but noted that demand has dropped this year compared with 2023 and 2024.

A supplier from Southern Europe also said that green material procurement is definitely not a priority in Europe at the moment, due to the caution in the market driven by the geopolitical uncertainty in the global arena.

The European domestic market for steel hot-rolled coil became subdued in mid-April, despite expectations of a rebound at the time of the Tube and Wire trade fair in Dusseldorf, Germany, over April 13-17.

Trading remained muted because neither sellers nor buyers needed to move significant volumes of material. Customers’ stocks were said to be sufficient high, with both domestic and imported material booked early to secure availability before the EU’s new trade regime comes into force on July 1.

As a result, estimates of workable prices in Northern Europe retreated to €700-710 ($826-837) per tonne ex-works on April 17, from €700-720 per tonne ex-works earlier in the month.

At the same time, European suppliers continue to seek higher prices for July delivery material, with stricter new safeguard measures being the key factor rather than real demand.

Earlier in the week ended April 17, the European Council and European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a new trade regime. A new tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system was now set to replace the existing steel safeguard measures, starting from July 1.

Several integrated mills indicated preliminary target offers at €750-770 per tonne ex-works for July-delivery coil, which were considered to be high by customers.

The mills were expected to come back with firm offers for third-quarter delivery coil once the country-specific TRQ volumes were revealed.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was €708.33 per tonne on April 17, down by €1.15 per tonne day on day.

The index was also down by €11.67 per tonne week on week and down by €1.80 per tonne month on month.

The Italian market was also quiet, with €700-710 per tonne said to be the workable price on April 17, compared with €690-700 per tonne ex-works earlier in April.

Material supply in the country was reduced at the moment due to the suspension of HRC production at the beginning of April because of technical issues affecting a local re-roller. Operations were expected to be resumed in May.

In Northern Europe, an integrated producer from the Benelux area was also experiencing technical issues, resulting in a lack of material.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, was calculated at €700.00 per tonne ex-works on April 17, up by €1.25 per tonne from €698.75 per tonne on April 16.

The index was stable week-on week but up by €2.50 per tonne month on month.

On imports, there was information circulating in the market about a 25,000 tonnes cargo of Algerian HRC being booked at $800 per tonne for Southern Europe. A majority of market sources thought this price too high, but one source reported an offer from Algeria at $800 per tonne CFR.

Turkish HRC was said to be available at €640-665 per tonne CFR including anti-dumping duty, but excluding costs relating to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

Indian coil was heard offered at $710 per tonne CFR.