European hot-rolled coil prices were largely unchanged Dec. 5, with participants describing a market held back by regulatory uncertainty and limited urgency on both the buying and selling sides.
Market sources said that expectations for the European Commission’s forthcoming CBAM documentation continued to dominate sentiment, with several participants noting that even preliminary values could shift procurement strategies for early 2026.
“Everything is on pause,” a mill source said. “Producers have covered January, buyers are covered as well, so no one feels the need to push volumes. We’re all waiting for the Commission’s paper. That’s the key trigger.”
A trader source echoed the view, calling the environment “chaotic” and highlighting that safeguard constraints were equally restricting foreign coil availability. “Imports are practically absent,” he said. “It’s not just CBAM, safeguards are blocking meaningful volumes for Q1.”
In Northern Europe, tradable discussions were reported at Eur600-610/mt ex-works Ruhr.
Southern European indications remained steady, with a tradable value at Eur600/mt ex-works Italy for February delivery. Offers from Italian mills continued to be pitched at Eur620-630/mt ex-works, though several buyers dismissed these as “aspirational” until regulatory visibility improves.
Indonesian-origin coil was offered at Eur470-480/mt CIF Italy, exclusive of CBAM charges, though sources said buyers were reluctant to engage without clarity on final carbon values.
Platts assessed domestic HRC at Eur610/mt ex-works Ruhr and Eur595/mt ex-works Italy, both unchanged day over day.
Platts assessed imported HRC at Eur500/mt CIF Antwerp and Eur495/mt CIF Southern Europe, also both stable day over day.
