Business activity in the European market for steel hot-rolled coil was still subdued on Monday June 23 with customers expecting a further decline in prices in both the North and South of the region, while the deteriorating geopolitical situation in the Middle East made customers even more cautious.
In Northern Europe, material from local suppliers was available within the range of €570-590 ($657-680) per tonne ex-works, with some limited tonnages heard sold at €580 per tonne ex-works.
Consequently, Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was €580.23 ($669.06) per tonne on Monday, up by only €0.05 per tonne from €580.18 per tonne on June 20.
After the assessment was filed, however, one market source said that “even at €570 per tonne ex-works, it is difficult to find much interest.”
In Italy, some bookings from local producers were heard at €550 per tonne ex-works, while both integrated mills and re-rollers were hoping to achieve €560-570 per tonne ex-works.
Some bids were heard as low as €530 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, was calculated at €556.00 per tonne on Monday, down from €566.67 per tonne ex-works on Friday.
The worsening of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East [LINK] was increasing the sense of caution among buyers, several market sources said.
A rise in the costs of production following the increase in global oil prices, as well as the potential for change in the logistics of material imports in the event that the Suez Canal becomes blocked, were among the possible consequences of the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Most recent offers of Indonesian HRC were heard at the end of last week at €470-480 per tonne CFR Italy for August shipment, with estimates of achievable prices for such material heard at €460-470 per tonne CFR.
Turkish coil was offered to Italy around €525-530 per tonne CFR, including duty, but some market participants indicated that HRC from Turkey could be available at prices as low as €515 per tonne, duty paid and CFR. This could not be verified at the time of publication, however.
Algeria-origin coil was offered at less than €500 per tonne CFR Italy for July–August shipment.
Offers of Vietnamese material were heard at €510 per tonne CFR, with bids reported at €490-500 per tonne CFR.
