In Northern Europe, trading was muted and mills failed to seal offers at €600 ($702) per tonne ex-works and above in deals due to slow demand.
Transactions for November-delivery HRC were reported at €580 per tonne ex-works in Germany and at €570-580 per tonne ex-works in the Benelux area, in line with buyers’ estimations of tradeable values.
“Mills’ official offers are €600-630 per tonne ex-works, but they are actually selling coil at lower levels to fill order books,” one buyer in Germany told Fastmarkets.
Buyers claimed they had sufficient tonnages of HRC in stock. They were also waiting for more clarity on Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) implementation rules and new steel safeguard measures.
Sources familiar with the matter told Fastmarkets that new steel safeguards measures will be represented by the European Commission by mid-October.
But there was less clarity on CBAM rules, as reported by Fastmarkets.
Notably, emissions benchmarks and default values, methodology for recognizing carbon prices paid in third countries, and adjustment mechanisms for free emissions trading scheme allocations were heard to “remain under discussion, with publication likely only in early 2026.”
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was €577.71 per tonne on Friday, up by €2.71 per tonne from €575.00 per tonne on Thursday.
The Northern European index was down by €2.29 per tonne week on week, but up by €4.49 per tonne month on month.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €550.63 per tonne ex-works on Friday, up by €0.63 per tonne from €550.00 per tonne on Thursday.
The Italian index was up by €0.63 per tonne week on week and up by €10.63 per tonne month on month.
In Italy, integrated mills and re-rollers were offering November-delivery HRC at €570-580 per tonne ex-works. But such levels were not sealed in deals.
One buyer reported a bid at €540 per tonne ex-works, but said the seller rejected the bid.
“We’re in a trading dead-end. Mills do not want to sell lower than €570 [per tonne ex-works]; we do not want to buy at these levels,” a buyer told Fastmarkets.
Another mill source confirmed that it was impossible to close deals above €550 per tonne ex-works yet.
“The market is stable and not moving anywhere yet. Mills do need to sell, but not at the scale when they need to lower prices and buyers are not in a rush to book [HRC] because stocks are sufficient,” a trading source said.
Meanwhile, the market for imported HRC was also very quiet. Buyers were cautious to book new tonnages with delivery in the first quarter 2026 due to uncertainties surrounding CBAM implementation.
“The final parameters of CBAM [benchmarks, default values] will not be published until the first quarter 2026, so all imports for 2026 [delivery] is just gambling,” a second buyer in Italy said.
Still, several sources reported a large-size transaction of 40,000 tonnes of Indonesian HRC, for arrival in December, being done at €510 per tonne DDP – customs cleared, CBAM paid. Another source reported the same deal at €470 per tonne CFR.
As Fastmarkets previously reported, some Asian suppliers were heard offering to cover CBAM risks for buyers to stimulate buying appetite.
Meanwhile, offers from Turkey were heard at €520-530 per tonne CFR to Italy including the duty.
