ArcelorMittal has increased domestic coil offers by EUR50/t compared to previous offers, market sources told McCloskey on 17 February.
The new target prices for May shipment were reported at EUR750/t delivered for hot-rolled coil, at EUR880/t delivered for cold-rolled coil and at EUR870/t delivered for hot-dipped galvanized coil. The steelmaker had previously increased offers by EUR50/t in January and by EUR30-40/t in December.
Several market sources reported the new offers have already been sent to buyers, while some market participants said they were yet to receive official offers, but that sales representatives of the steelmaker confirmed the intent to increase offers to the aforementioned levels.
Sources were somewhat bemused by the higher offer levels given the previous target prices were reportedly not achieved in deals they said.
McCloskey assessed domestic prices for HRC in Northwest Europe at EUR655/t ex-works on 13 February, based on a few deals and offers heard at EUR640-670/t ex-works.
At the beginning of the week, some sources reported transactions for domestic HRC around EUR690-700/t delivered, but the information was not widely confirmed in the market, and some integrated mills were reported giving offers at around EUR645/t ex-works.
The upbeat sentiment of January has turned gloomier in February due to lack of real demand recovery. In addition, concerns have grown the domestic price rise and growing protectionism in steel imports will open the door for the import of steel containing goods into the EU.
And while the European authorities are planning to address this issue, some market participants believe that any remedies would not be introduced in a timely manner.
While these concerns are acknowledged by both buyers and sellers in Europe, the majority of sources remain bullish in the price outlook, although questioning the pace of the current price hike.
The introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2026 and the anticipated reduction of import steel quotas by 47% has already made European buyers more cautious regarding importing steel. As a result, domestic mills are expected to grow market share, replacing overseas material and somewhat offsetting the effects of the lack of real demand improvements.
