Domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the EU have remained largely unchanged this week, with workable levels mainly at the lower end of mills’ offer ranges. Meanwhile, import activity has largely stalled amid uncertainty over quota availability and additional costs.
In northern Europe, domestic HRC prices have been reported at €740-760/mt ex-works, with some offers still reaching €770/mt ex-works, unchanged from last week. However, sources consider prices at the lower end of the range to be workable.
In Italy, offers have been heard at around €750/mt ex-works and above, while workable prices have remained within €740-750/mt ex-works, in line with previous transactions reported in the market. In Spain, workable HRC prices have been reported at €740-745/mt ex-works, unchanged from last week.
Meanwhile, import HRC offers have remained broadly unchanged or showing only a slight increase week on week at €635-670/mt CFR. The lower end corresponds to offers for ex-Turkey material at around $710/mt CFR, or approximately €635/mt CFR, duty paid, up by €10/mt week on week. Indicative offers for ex-Egypt HRC have been heard at $740-750/mt CFR, equivalent to around €660-670/mt CFR, the same as last week, while offers for ex-India coils have been reported at €650-670/mt CFR, according to sources. According to sources, although the most aggressive offers have disappeared from the market, market insiders do not consider the latest indicative offers to be workable. “Buyers’ price expectations remain closer to €600-620/mt CFR, with little fresh business reported,” a source said.
Import offers on DDP basis have been estimated at €760-780/mt. Offers for ex-Vietnam HRC have been heard at the lower end of this range, while material from Taiwan, South Korea and Japan has been offered at approximately €770-780/mt DDP. However, these remain offer indications, with little fresh import business reported. “There are no orders at the moment, but buyers may return if European mills raise their prices and imports become more attractive,” a market source told SteelOrbis.
“We expect some activity to resume next week following confirmation of FTA quota allocations, probably on October 13. For now, buyers remain cautious about committing to new bookings given uncertainty over the final cost of imported material,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
According to sources, pressure on EU HRC import quotas for October-December 2026 remains high. In particular, according to the SteelOrbis EU quota tracking, Turkey’s country-specific HRC quota of 160,573 mt was exhausted on October 1. India’s quota has a remaining balance of 19,126 mt, against 23,628 mt awaiting allocation, meaning allocated volumes and pending requests together represent approximately 103 percent of its 149,318 mt quota. Meanwhile, pending requests under FTA-CSQ total 194,001 mt against an available volume of 120,920 mt, equivalent to around 160 percent of the quota, although allocation remains pending.
Looking ahead, some sources expect prices to move up from January amid concerns over quota availability for the first quarter of 2027. Substantial volumes from Turkey and India are reportedly to have been sold already for arrival in the first quarter, raising expectations that some importers will face out-of-quota duties.
$1 = €0.89
Author: SteelOrbis Editorial Team
