Local steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in Northern Europe were largely stable on Monday October 12, with sources reporting limited demand and sufficient stock in the market, while Italian prices declined slightly, with buyers reluctant to order larger volumes, market participants told Fastmarkets.
In Northern Europe, sources said demand was still missing, while stockholders and fabricators were well filled.
Trading in the region has been slow, with latest deals reported at €740-750 ($829-840) per tonne ex-works for 2,000-3,000-tonne orders on Friday October 9.
On Monday, sources reported indications of workable market levels in a wider range of €730-760 per tonne ex-works, quoting €740 per tonne ex-works as current prices in Northwest Europe.
A trade source said that some northern mills have reported “closing or nearly exhausting their fourth quarter bookings,” but this was not independently confirmed by suppliers in the region.
A producer said that mills were waiting to see how much buyers were willing to pay, with demand remaining the key factor.
Thus, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €741.67 per tonne on October 12, unchanged from Friday October 9.
The index was down by €0.21 per tonne week on week and by €3.33 per tonne month on month.
Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal has restarted its blast furnace No. 5A at Eisenhüttenstadt on October 6 after halting operations on September 25, the producer told Fastmarkets on Monday.
“There was a process-related disruption at the blast furnace, which has now been resolved, and normal operations have been resumed,” the steelmaker said, without providing further details about the reason for the stoppage and the impacted production volume.
The mill produces slabs, hot-rolled, cold-rolled and hot-dipped galvanized products, according to company information.
In Italy, the tight HRC supply was limiting room for negotiations, sources said, adding that demand remained limited.
Latest indications of workable levels came within €730-750 per tonne ex-works on Monday, reported by two buyer sources.
A third buyer said that mills were not receiving enough orders to secure sufficient coverage for longer-term business. “Demand remains rather weak, and buyers still seem reluctant to commit to larger volumes or longer delivery periods,” the same source told Fastmarkets.
Meanwhile, market participants said that they were not hearing any recent price negotiations with the former Ilva steelworks in the spot market anymore, after the producer was ordered to suspend hot-end operations by October 28.
At the same time, Metinvest’s Ferriera Valsider mill in Italy had been offering minor December allocation in the HRC domestic market after declaring a force majeure in late August due to engine issues, according to a company source.
This has left buyers dependent on Arvedi as the country’s sole active domestic producer, sources 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 €5 per tonne week on week but up by €5 per tonne month on month.
On the wider picture, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) expects EU steel demand to decline by 0.3% in 2026 to 146.3 million tonnes from 146.7 million tonnes in 2025 before recovering by 3.1% in 2027 to 150.8 million tonnes, revising down its 2026 forecast by 1.5% in its Short Range Outlook, published on October 12.
According to worldsteel, stronger-than-expected demand in 2025 was partly driven by stock-building ahead of the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2026, while underlying market conditions have remained weak due to a slower-than-expected recovery in construction and continued weakness in the automotive sector.
However, the association expects steel demand to improve from 2027, supported by infrastructure and defense spending, rising household incomes, and investment in energy and rail projects.
