Domestic prices for European hot-rolled coil remained largely stable on Sept. 20, as buying activity remained limited in the market due to low end-user demand.
“Buyers, such as service centers and distributors, are not in a great position to offload material,” an Italy-based mill source said. “Therefore, they are not in a great rush to buy. End-user demand is just not enough.”
“Pricing is not the problem,” a distributor source said. “Problem is low/no demand.”
Platts assessed Northwest European HRC stable on the day at Eur555/mt ex-works Ruhr on Sept. 20. Tradable values were reported at Eur550/mt EXW Ruhr from a buy-side source.
Platts assessed domestic HRC prices in Southern Europe also stable on the day at Eur555/mt EXW Italy, with tradable values reported at Eur540-580/mt EXW Italy.
Sources said that production overcapacity in Asia has made it difficult for European suppliers to compete with them. However, interest in imports still remained weak due to concerns around safeguard duties and anti-dumping investigations.
“Production overcapacity in Asia is making things difficult for EU suppliers,” a service center source said.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Northwest Europe at Eur540/mt CIF Antwerp, down Eur5 on the day.
Meanwhile, Platts assessed imported HRC in Southern Europe at Eur540/mt CIF Italy, up Eur5 on the day.
