European hot rolled coil prices remained stable Feb. 14, while sources shared increasingly optimistic outlooks on price trajectory amid lingering uncertainty.
Market participants pointed towards recent news of US tariffs, and upcoming elections in Germany as increasingly bullish factors in the market, as import interest continued to remain poor.
“Demand is restarting everywhere but in Germany, which is seeing a lot less activity,” a mill source said. “German buyers want to postpone big bookings until after the election, but with the news [sanctions] from the US, there is a good argument for higher prices.”
A seller source also pointed to an increase in activity into the second quarter.
“We are seeing activity for inquiries and our bids are moving closer to our asking prices. Momentum is building,” he said.
Platts assessed the Northwest European domestic HRC price at Eur600/mt ex-works Ruhr, stable Feb. 14, and the South European domestic HRC price at Eur595/mt ex-works Italy, also stable day over day.
“I see a big improvement in business, but customers are nervous about what is happening,” a mid-stream buyer said. “There has been a big price increase, and due to hardly any imports mills expect prices to climb further in the coming weeks, and that there will be shortages when the import duties take effect.”
Platts assessed import HRC prices at Eur545/mt CIF Antwerp and Eur545/mt CIF Italy, both unchanged day over day, as offers remained too high to spark buying interest.
Other sources cited stable fundamentals, arguing that demand drivers have not shifted significantly despite higher mill offers in recent weeks.
“Sentiment remains bullish despite demand still being relatively week,” a distributor said.
The market also saw further debate surrounding the upcoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, following a conference in Paris organized by the European Commission Feb. 13.
Following the event, the European Steel Association, or Eurofer renewed calls for “major improvements” to CBAM, or the legislation will “fail to provide adequate protection against carbon leakage.”
In a statement published Feb. 13, Eurofer’s list of suggested changes included extending CBAM’s scope to steel-intensive downstream products and a structural solution to preserve European exports.
S&P Global Platts assessed Northwest European hot-rolled coil carbon-accounted at Eur670/mt ex-works Ruhr Feb. 14, stable on the day. Although spot demand for carbon-accounted material has remained low, seller sources reported significant volumes and growing interest for material in long-term contracts.
Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.
