European HRC prices steady amid mixed sentiment
December-delivery HRC was said to be largely sold out at first-tier suppliers.
Bids for January delivery coil were reported at €560-580 ($591-613) per tonne ex-works, but a mill source told Fastmarkets that “for the first quarter 2025, the minimum HRC price is €600 [per tonne ex-works.”
And HRC offers for first-quarter delivery coil came in at €600-620 per tonne ex-works on Tuesday, sources said.
One booking was heard at €600 per tonne delivered in Germany, and some sources said that price could be effective, but the specification could not be confirmed by the time of publication.
“It’s hard to achieve higher [HRC] prices in a market [with] weak automotive [demand and] fierce competition between steel service centers because of high inventories and cashflow needs,” a buyer in Germany said.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €562.67 per tonne on Tuesday, down by €0.66 per tonne from €563.33 per tonne on November 18.
The index was, however, up by €3.92 per tonne week on week and by €9.54 per tonne month on month.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €557.32 per tonne on Tuesday, down by just €0.18 per tonne from €557.50 per tonne on Monday.
But the Italian index was up by €4.94 per tonne week on week and by €6.07 per tonne month on month.
The market in Italy was also mostly quiet, with local mills not yet managing to seal higher offers in any deals, Fastmarkets understands.
HRC with lead times in the first quarter of 2025 was on offer from local suppliers at €600 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €590 per tonne ex-works.
Buyer estimates of the tradable value for such material came in at around €570-580 per tonne delivered (€560-570 per tonne ex-works).
And some buyer estimates were even lower – at closer to €550 per tonne ex-works – with weak demand and fierce competition downstream cited as the main reasons for the low prices.
In the secondary market, cut-to-length HRC was still available at around €620-630 per tonne CPT, sources said – unchanged since mid-October.
“Demand [for steel] is not improving and steel mills have not announced any production cuts. So there will be no strong price rebound [for HRC] despite the mills announcing increased prices for the first quarter of 2025,” a buyer source said.
Other market participants said that import restrictions had only provided limited support to the European market and the lack of real demand was the key obstacle to any HRC price rebound.
“The lack of new imports will start to be visible in the market in March-April [2025]. So far, the ports are still full; stocks are full,” a buyer source in Italy said.
Aside from the trade risks – such as EU safeguards and the pending anti-dumping probe into HRC from certain origins – the current exchange rate between the US dollar and the euro is making imports more expensive.
Turkey-origin HRC was on offer at €610-620 per tonne CFR Italy, including the anti-dumping duty.
Published by: Julia Bolotova
SteelZero calls for public sector-led transition, procurement
Climate Group’s SteelZero initiative is calling on governments to lead the transition in decarbonising heavy industry, by adopting industry wide standards and procuring lower-emission steel, Kallanish learns.
The initiative’s “Getting to SteelZero: Pathways to decarbonisation for government and industry” report gives policy-based recommendations and sees the public sector as a key enabler of change.
Helen Clarkson, chief executive at Climate Group, says: “This is too big a challenge for any one company or institution to deliver. We need to see collaboration and innovation to create the conditions for a private sector led, government enabled transition.”
Climate Group aims to bring governments together to overcome decarbonisation barriers through its proposed Industrial Decarbonisation Enablement Alliance (IDEA) for heavy industries such as steel.
Effective collaboration can also amplify demand signals that push steelmakers to invest in new technologies. SteelZero argues it is imperative to find new ways to unlock investment, not only in steelmaking facilities, but also in renewable energy, green hydrogen and green ironmaking plants.
One of its recommendations is utilising procurement to specify the use of lower emission steel and incentivise its wider use through changes to regulations and standards. The report notes governments have substantial purchasing power and therefore an opportunity to influence the market directly.
Beyond purchasing power, they can also support industry decarbonisation through investment, policy and regulatory frameworks. These actions can also help enhance the competitiveness of local businesses in the complex global markets for steel, it notes.
Another recommendation is aligning net zero strategies, industrial policy and investment incentives to support steel decarbonisation.
“This is not about protectionism. We all lose if environmental rules become trade barriers,” the report adds.
It also notes that decarbonisation goes beyond building new lower emission steelmaking capacity. It requires vast and supportive infrastructure, which means ensuring that electricity supply and transmission are in place and that green hydrogen is available.
Another focus in the report is the use of data, which remains a major barrier to change, and its role in the adoption of emissions standards. SteelZero says governments should adopt transparent and comparable environmental data standards that give steel buyers clarity and confidence, while noting there is currently no universally agreed definition for green steel.
It notes that businesses are seeking common terminology across the entire value chain with a standardised definition.
The standard should allow for geographical and sectoral variability, while options will vary depending on production location and method, clean energy availability, and the priorities and incentives set by government policy.
SteelZero also notes that for those producing steel from iron ore rather than through recycling existing steel, the urgency and scale of the transition is significantly greater. “We need to work together to find ways to close coal blast furnaces and invest in innovative new steelmaking techniques that can deliver net zero steel to everyone, everywhere,” the report concludes.
Carrie Bone UK
August maintenance drags down Swedish year-to-date output
Swedish crude steel production fell 7% on-year in the first nine months of 2024. This was dragged down mainly by a 41% on-year slump in August output due to planned maintenance shutdowns, says the country’s national steel federation, Jernkontoret.
In the first nine months 2024, mills produced 3.04 million tonnes of crude steel. In September alone, output was 307,000t, down 3% on-year, Kallanish notes.
The planned maintenance clearly did not take place in summer 2023, with output that year down 3% on-year each in July as well as August. However, September 2023 saw production fall 13%, with Jernkontorent offering no explanation then.
July this year saw output nearly on par with last year’s July, at 314,000t, quite possibly due to strong production in anticipation of the August shutdown.
Christian Koehl Germany
San Polo Lamiere acquires Italpak
Italian service centre San Polo Lamiere has successfully acquired full ownership of Italpak, a service centre specialising in tinplate and packaging solutions for the food sector.
The acquisition aligns with San Polo Lamiere’s strategic objective of enhancing and diversifying its commercial portfolio and production capabilities. “Steel serves as the fundamental element of the Group; however, pursuing diversification in the downstream sectors remains a key objective,” chief executive Tommaso Sandrini tells Kallanish.
Italpack is an opportunity for the service centre to penetrate a new market segment that is exhibiting substantial growth potential. The two companies, situated near Parma, will leverage synergies to enhance production capacity. Italpak processed approximately 50,000 tonnes of tinplate last year. The objective is to enhance capacity to a range of 60,000-70,000 t/year next year.
San Polo Lamiere specialises in the transformation of coils into sheets and strips. In 2023, the firm processed approximately 200,000t of steel, Sandrini confirms.
Italpak has achieved notable growth in recent years, attributed to its partnership with Thyssenkrupp-Rasselstein, a leading tinplate manufacturer in Europe. This collaboration has enhanced its production processes and fortified its commercial positioning within the high-end segment.
The firm is set to maintain its operations as a standalone entity, now under the leadership of newly appointed ceo Stefano Morelli. The organisation processes coils through two cutting lines located at its facility in Montechiarugolo.
Natalia Capra France
HRC prices in Europe hold steady; market direction for Q1 remains unclear
Despite an increased number of inquiries for potential purchases of HRC, trading remained limited, Fastmarkets heard.
Mills in Northern Europe continued targeting €600-620 ($632-653) per tonne ex-works for first-quarter-delivery coil.
No deals were reported at these levels however.
December-delivery material was still available in the market, according to some sources.
One buyer source told Fastmarkets that in theory, December-delivery coil should be sold out now, but in practice, some volumes from stocks could still be traded.
Buyer estimations for the tradeable market level were at €550-570 per tonne ex-works.
Some small volumes of December-delivery HRC were booked at €570 per tonne ex-works, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €563.33 per tonne on Monday, up by €0.83 per tonne from €562.50 per tonne on Friday November 15.
The index was up by €5.00 per tonne week on week and by €10.20 per tonne month on month.
But buyers were not convinced about the positive development of the market for the first quarter of 2025.
According to the buyer source, prices would not increase significantly in the first quarter of next year and more positive developments could be expected only in the second quarter.
Mills in Northern Europe hoped that limited imports would support prices, with buyers relying mainly on local production.
But the lack of imports would become more visible in the market closer to the end of the first quarter of 2025, Fastmarkets reported previously.
There is still a lot of steel in the pipeline and at least a few months will be necessary to clear it, according to industry sources.
As well, low demand from the main steel-consuming sectors remained a major concern.
“[For the market to improve], we will need more positive news from the automotive and construction sectors,” a second buyer source told Fastmarkets, adding that for now the situation seemed more complicated.
The second buyer agreed that more positive developments could be expected in the second quarter of 2025.
Meanwhile, in Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €557.50 per tonne, up by €1.50 per tonne from €556.00 per tonne on Monday.
The Italian index was up by €5.50 per tonne week on week and by €6.25 per tonne month on month.
December-delivery material was no longer available in the Italian market, industry sources reported.
HRC with lead times in the first quarter of 2025 was on offer from local suppliers at €600 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €590 per tonne ex-works.
A third buyer source told Fastmarkets that transactions in Italy were limited.
Buyer estimations of the workable market level were at €550-570 per tonne ex-works.
Import offers remained uncompetitive in the European market, Fastmarkets heard.
Aside from the trade risk, the current exchange rate between the US dollar and the euro made imports more expensive.
Asia-origin HRC was on offer at €610-620 per tonne CFR Italy, with these levels considered by buyers to be “completely not workable.”
Published by: Darina Kahramanova
Stable market environment supports EU HRC prices
Domestic European hot-rolled coil prices held steady Nov. 18 as mills sought price consolidation amid a stable market environment with weak demand.
As the market became increasingly competitive with mills seeking to win business amid limited demand, European mills made price consolidation a key priority.
A Germany-based mill source did not expect a change in market dynamics in the remaining weeks to Christmas.
“The market will just start to slow down until then, with no expectation for a market pickup,” the source said.
A Germany-based distributor source saw limited restocking and subdued automotive demand with stable prices in the European flat steel market amid a backdrop of weak demand.
“The European market struggled to fully accept high green steel premiums due to economic challenges, limited end-user demand and cost sensitivity,” particularly from the automotive industry, the source said.
Economic factors continued to slow demand for European flat steel amid price-sensitive market fundamentals.
Platts assessed Northwest European HRC at Eur560/mt ex-works Ruhr Nov. 18, stable on the day.
Offers were reported at Eur600-620/mt ex-works Ruhr. Tradable values were reported at Eur540-580/mt ex-works Ruhr.
Platts assessed domestic HRC in Southern Europe at Eur555/mt EXW Italy, down Eur5 on the day.
The exchange rate continued to leave European importers at a disadvantage when trading in dollars, according to sources.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Northwest Europe at Eur525/mt CIF Antwerp, stable on the day.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Southern Europe at Eur525/mt CIF Italy, stable on the day.
Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Access to finance an issue for steel industry’s net zero carbon target, says Ugur Dalbeler
Access to finance remains an issue for the steel industry’s net zero carbon target, so some delays could be seen in reaching targets globally, Ugur Dalbeler, vice president of the Turkish Steel Exporters’ Union (CIB) and CEO of major Turkish steel producer Colakoglu, said.
Noting that Turkey has some advantages on an environmental basis, especially in the steelmaking process, Dalbeler said at the “Future of the Steel Industry: Decarbonization, Circular Economy, and Emerging Challenges” panel held in the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan Nov. 16 that the Turkish steel sector will be separated positively from its rivals in the coming years due to this advantage.
Electric arc furnaces’ share in total steel production in Turkey is around 75%, which has lower carbon emissions compared with the basic oxygen steelmaking process (BOF).
“If Turkey will manage to reduce Scope 2 emissions on the energy side successfully, logistic issues could be also solved easily in the coming years,” the CEO noted.
Turkey completed its sectoral low carbon road map studies this year and has set a 99% emission reduction goal for the steel industry by 2053.
In the low-carbon pathway (LCP) scenario of the Turkish Trade Mistry’s report, total emissions of the Turkish steel sector can be reduced by 20.6% in 2040 and 99.7% in 2053.
In the optimal LCP scenario, the EAF route continues to have the largest share in the production of steel in Turkey in 2053. However, with the expected increase in scrap prices and the introduction of new BOF technologies, EAF use will decrease to 62% of total production capacity by 2053 from the current 75%, according to the report.
EAF technology’s share will be firstly gradually replaced by DRI technology and later by BOF using hydrogen-based DRI, the report said, adding that 13% of the production capacity for traditional EAF will be shifted to DRI and hydrogen-based technologies in 2053.
Access to finance, however, remained an issue for the net zero carbon target both for Turkey and the global steel industry,” Dalbeler said, adding that to have the necessary finance and technologies, these kinds of organizations (COP29) are very useful.
HRC prices stable in Europe; buyers question Q1 rebound
Trading was limited and, despite producer sources reporting more inquiries for first-quarter delivery material, negotiating deals remained challenging.
“There is a fight for every order,” a mill source in Northern Europe said.
The target offer for first-quarter delivery coil was €600-620 ($633-654) per tonne ex-works for January, with some mill aiming for €640 per tonne for March-delivery material.
“For January [delivery] we are targeting €600 [per tonne ex-works] minimum,” a second mill source said.
In contrast, November-December delivery HRC was being sold in Northern Europe between €540-560 per tonne ex-works.
December-delivery HRC was said to be largely sold out at first-tier suppliers.
Bids for January delivery coils were reported at €560-570 per tonne ex-works on Friday.
“Bullish sentiment has cooled a bit — mills announced €620 [per tonne ex-works at EuroBlech Fair [October 22-25] but it hasn’t been traded. There are mixed feelings about January trend,” a German trader said.
One buyer source reported a deal at €550-560 per tonne ex-works in Germany, but details were not specified before the publication deadline.
As a result, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €562.50 ($593.01) per tonne on Friday, up by €0.21 per tonne from €562.29 per tonne on Thursday November 14.
The index was also up by €3.75 per tonne week on week and by €8.12 per tonne month on month.
Hopes for a first-quarter price rebound were based on expected restocking as well as reduced imports in the market due to trade restrictions and stronger reliance on European material as a result.
However, persistently weak real demand from major steel-using sectors put any potential rebound into question.
“There is no [real] demand, so no chance for an increase [for HRC prices],” a second trading source said.
“The lack of imports will start to be visible in the market closer to the end of the first quarter of 2025, because there is still a lot of steel in the pipeline – it will take a few more months to clear this up,” a third trader said.
Sources said they do not expect to see any major changes in the market over the next few weeks.
“In Germany, we will have very short December – many trading companies, steel service centers and original equipment manufacturers will close for Christmas [in the week starting December 16] for at least three weeks,” a German distributor said.
In Southern Europe, meanwhile, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €556.00 per tonne on Friday, down by €0.20 per tonne from €556.20 per tonne on the previous day.
The Italian index was also up by €3.50 per tonne week on week and by €7.25 per tonne month on month.
For the HRC with lead times in the first quarter of 2025, offers were heard at €600 per tonne delivered (€590 per tonne ex-works), compared with €570-580 per tonne delivered (€560-570 per tonne ex-works) for December lead times.
But buyer estimates of the tradable value were no higher than €550-570 per tonne ex-works.
The import HRC market remained quiet in the week to Friday, with offers from Asian mills heard in the range of €550-570 per tonne CFR, and €600-620 per tonne CFR from Turkey.
These prices failed to spur any buying interest at European buyers.
“Import prices are getting higher and therefore less interesting. Most likely and mainly because of the stronger US dollar versus the Euro,” a buyer source in Europe said.
Published by: Julia Bolotova
Polish rebar prices inch lower on decreased activity in construction, currency fluctuations
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, cpt Poland was 2,500-2,530 zloty ($608-615) per tonne on Friday, decreasing by 20 zloty per tonne, from 2,520-2,550 zloty per tonne on November 8.
One Polish mill was heard offering rebar at 2,600 zloty per tonne CPT, but this was considered unrealistically high by market participants.
“They sold good volumes a few weeks ago and now they are busy to complete old orders. That is why they can allow their offers to be kept at higher levels,” a distributor source told Fastmarkets, adding that no one was buying at this price.
Other Polish mills offered rebar at 2,500-2,530 zloty per tonne CPT, with these price levels available even for small volumes of one or two trucks, Fastmarkets understands.
Fastmarkets’ sources estimated the workable market level at 2,500-2,530 zloty per tonne CPT.
But demand for rebar in Poland remained low due to seasonal factors and continuing economic headwinds, Fastmarkets understands.
“The construction season is behind us. The weather is colder with more rain. The construction sites still work, of course, but they are buying smaller volumes than before,” the distributor source told Fastmarkets.
“Demand is weaker – it can be seen especially in the cut-and-bend sector. Projects, which were planned for this year, started a few months ago, but now there are no new projects on the horizon,” a second distributor source said.
A weaker zloty has also contributed to the price decline because it has made rebar imports more expensive, with local mills keeping their offers slightly lower to maintain their competitive advantage, Fastmarkets heard.
“In the last few weeks, the Polish currency is weaker against the euro. This makes imports more expensive,” the first distributor source told Fastmarkets. “Polish mills see this and keep the rebar price at slightly lower levels.”
On November 15, the exchange rate was 4.33 zloty to €1, according to Oanda.com. This compares with 4.35 zloty to €1 at the start of the month, on November 1.
On October 1, €1 was exchanged for 4.28 Polish zloty.
On imports, Italy and Germany have not been actively offering rebar in the Polish market recently, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
The freight cost from Italy to Poland was at least €60 ($63) per tonne, and in light of the weaker Polish zloty, all these factors made imports from Italy uncompetitive.
The latest deals for imported rebar from Germany to Poland were heard at €590 per tonne CPT, industry sources told Fastmarkets. These transactions took place at the end of October.
This price level would be uncompetitive now compared with domestic prices because converted to the local currency it would be 2,556 zloty per tonne CPT.
Swiss Steel cuts 800 jobs
Swiss Steel Group says it is adjusting headcount, in reaction to the current economic conditions and persistently weak demand. This will result in the loss of around 800 full-time positions in Switzerland and abroad, the company informs Kallanish.
Weak demand in the European manufacturing industry, low production levels, and the modest growth outlook among Swiss Steel’s key customers necessitate further adjustments, it says in a statement.
The “capacity” reduction, as the firm terms it, is already in the final stages of planning and primarily impacts the European production sites as well as the entire sales organisation. Through this programme, the group will further reduce 530 jobs and adjust an additional 270 full-time positions in a cost-equivalent manner by reducing weekly working hours, it says.
It does not specify what tonnage will be affected.
For additional capacity adjustment, weekly contractual working hours at Deutsche Edelstahlwerke in Germany will be reduced by approximately 15%. These steps will be implemented promptly to take full effect in 2025, Swiss Steel says. As a result, the maker of special bar quality products will reduce its workforce to under 7,000 employees by the first half of 2025.
In Switzerland, 130 of the current 750 jobs at the Emmenbrücke plant are planned to be reduced. The positions to be eliminated will affect both production and administrative areas. It is anticipated that natural attrition alone will not suffice, making it necessary to terminate approximately 80 employees. These planned measures are currently subject to ongoing consultation, the firm notes.
Swiss Steel emphasises that the measures are aimed at ensuring the long-term optimisation and security of its production sites in Switzerland, Germany, and France. They complement the ongoing SSG 2025 strategy and restructuring programme, which has already achieved significant cost reductions, the company concludes.
Christian Koehl Germany