EU mills offer discount on HRC amid low demand

Prices remained stable in the European hot-rolled coil market Sept. 12, with discounted volumes available from Northern mills given low-demand.

Platts assessed HRC in Northern Europe stable Sept. 12, at Eur760/mt ex-works Ruhr.

Distribution sources reported tradable value on a range of Eur750-800/mt ex-works Ruhr and Northern Europe, with small tonnage deals concentrated on the low end. A deal was talked at below Eur700/mt to a German distributor, but this could not be confirmed by end of assessment.

Buyers were in doubt for how long the cheaper deals would be available however, with mills increasingly firm on higher offers.

“I’m still hearing of some low deals but not to the same level,” said a trader source. “While buyers don’t seem to have fully accepted the price increase, those who need material will pay higher, and others will need to come back to buy eventually.”

A trader source expected tradable value to rise to Eur800/mt ex-works Northern Europe in the near- to mid- term.

In Italy, offers were limited given production cuts in the region, with transactional activity similarly muted.

While transactional activity remains low, deals have settled as low as Eur750/Mt ex-works Italy, with buyers increasingly looking to January delivery import material in order to satisfy purchasing requirements for next year. As European mills are restricting offerings to Q4 and price direction is uncertain, market participants have highlighted the arbitrage opportunity in locking in competitive forward pricing.

Platts assessed hot-rolled coil in Italy stable Sept. 12 at Eur750/mt ex-works.

Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.

— Benjamin Steven