Leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal has raised its offer prices for hot-rolled coil across Europe by another €20 ($23) per tonne for March delivery, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday December 16.
Several sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Fastmarkets that ArcelorMittal had announced a price increase of €20 per tonne for March-delivery HRC, with new offers at €670 per tonne base delivered, compared with €650 per tonne base delivered for January/February delivery coil, announced in October.
As for downstream flat steel – cold-rolled coil and hot-dip galvanized coil – there was less traction in these segments compared with HRC, sources said.
The latest sales for HDG were reported at €760 per tonne base delivered in Northern Europe.
Some sources reported offers for March-delivery HDG from the supplier at €780 per tonne base delivered earlier this month. This was up by €30 per tonne compared to offers for HDG to be delivered in January and February, which were confirmed in October to be at €750 per tonne base delivered.
New offers have not been traded so far, but market sources noted that sentiment among other suppliers was becoming increasingly bullish, following the recent Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) updates.
Sources pointed out that recent price increases achieved in the European flat steel market were driven entirely by shifting trade regulations – notably CBAM and new trade regime, while real demand remained sluggish.
“[Flat steel] prices are moving slowly upwards – however only due to fear of uncertain costs of CBAM and new safeguards and are not driven by demand,” a buyer source in Germany said.
“There are very few companies who can manage CBAM financially – therefore, import activities almost stalled recently. Reliance on domestic steel next year will be much bigger, imports is becoming unmanageable,” a buyer in Italy said.
In recent weeks, European HRC prices have been broadly stable, with distributors and stockholders holding sufficient inventories and holding back from trading, expecting more clarity about the new trade measures and CBAM, and postponing purchases.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Northern Europe reflected the recent standstill in the market, trading within a range of €621-623 per tonne throughout the week to December 12. Minor day-to-day fluctuations marked a generally flat market, although month-on-month changes still indicated a modest upward trend.
Fastmarkets’ most recent calculation of daily steel HRC index domestic, exw Northern Europe was €621.67 per tonne on Monday, flat from December 12.
The index was down by €0.58 per tonne week on week but up by €8.75 per tonne month on month.
So far, tradable prices for HRC across Europe have remained below ArcelorMittal’s target offers – with recent trades in Northern Europe reported at €620-630 per tonne ex-works.
Looking ahead, sources said that in early 2026, following the full rollout of CBAM and the closure of remaining opportunities to secure competitively priced imports, higher prices might be accepted “in small steps,” Fastmarkets heard.
