In the first five weeks of the new European Commission definitive steel safeguard year, importers of hot-rolled coil have seen approximately 724,000 mt of the three-month global quota of 2.172 million mt cleared into free circulation.
As of the Aug 7 import date, a further 9,755 mt of HRC awaits allocation, according to the latest information available from EC website.
Large balances remain in each of the other main flat steel product categories, with cold-rolled coils collectively showing 88.5%, or 1.62 million mt of the net 1.83 million mt quota remaining available for import.
For galvanized coils, category 4a — non-automotive grade coated coils — 87% of the collective quota allowance remains available. Product category 4b — coated material mainly used in automotive applications — has seen the largest volume of imports, with the China country quota being used up fully on July 1, as previously reported by Platts.
The net remaining 4b material now shows 54% still available under the original 1.681 million quota.
— Len Griffin
