Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were unchanged in Europe on Dec. 23 due to market slowdown ahead of Christmas holidays.
The outlook has been largely bullish due to anticipated demand recovery in January, reduced availability from the domestic mills due to production cuts and rise of import offers.
“Market is very quiet now,” a trader said. “But I think that both domestic and impot prices will rise in January.”
A German mill has already tested the market with higher offers this week, asking Eur740/mt ex-works Ruhr.
While tradable values have been reported at Eur650-700/mt ex-works Ruhr.
Platts assessed North European hot-rolled coil unchanged on the day at Eur680/mt ex-works Ruhr on Dec. 23.
The assessment for domestic HRC in south of Europe has also been stable day on day at Eur670/mt ex-works Italy.
Market participants reported tradable value at Eur650-670/mt ex-works Italy.
Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.
— Maria Tanatar
