Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices increased in the week to 6 November due to rising steelmaking costs and against a background of reduced import availability due to regulatory effects.
Earlier this week, ArcelorMittal raised HRC prices for the first quarter to EUR820/t delivered, cold-rolled coil (CRC) prices to EUR940/t delivered and hot-dip galvanized coil (HDG) prices to EUR920/t delivered, citing rising energy costs as the main reason for the increase.
While the new target prices are viewed by buyers as unworkable in the short term, prices are likely to move above EUR800/t delivered in the first quarter.
In Northwest Europe, deals for domestic HRC have been reported at EUR760-790/t ex-works, with the majority of trades settled at EUR770/t ex-works.
In Italy, transactions for December rolling HRC have been settled at EUR740-750/t ex-works, but sellers and buyers have started to negotiate spot deals for the first quarter at around EUR770/t ex-works.
Offers from an Italian mill have been heard at EUR800/t delivered for local buyers and at EUR800-810/t ex-works for customers in Northwest Europe.
South European flat steelmakers, traditionally more dependent on imported material, faced significant supply cuts due to the introduction of tougher tariff-rate quotas in July this year and higher import prices resulting from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). In addition, Italy’s Supreme Court ordered the permanent shutdown of Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI)’s hot area following an appeal in late October. In 2025, the plant produced 2 million tonnes of steel, and now Italian buyers will have to replace the lost volumes with material sourced from within the EU, supporting the price rise.
Italian buyers have already sourced slabs from China, India and Turkey, as imports of semi-finished steel products are not covered by the EU’s quotas or other trade defence measures. They intend to use ADI’s rolling mills to process the imported slabs into coil and offset the decline in the availability of imported finished products. However, market participants said that re-rolling had not started yet and that ADI had asked buyers to reduce the volumes rolled at its mills by around 100,000 tonnes compared with the originally agreed volumes of above 500,000 tonnes. Tolling fees for re-rolling were reported at EUR160-190/t, but due to surging energy costs, those rates might be insufficient. In addition, the prices for HRC rolled at ADI from imported slabs might be uncompetitive when taking into account tolling and CBAM costs, sources said.
Market participants reported some improvement in steel demand over the week, as distributors had somewhat reduced their stocks ahead of year-end and started to plan purchases for next year. In addition, several sources said that prices for cut coil from distributors had started to increase, supporting higher coil prices.
“Real demand is normal, but the high stocks were slowing down the apparent demand and the price recovery,” a trader said.
Green steel market
Green steel purchases have remained a low priority for spot buyers, who are currently more focused on adjusting to changes in the traditional steel market, including higher domestic prices and tighter import availability.
Mills are hoping that EU authorities will support demand for low-CO2 steel. This week, the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) adopted its position on revised climate targets for the EU’s automotive sector on 5 November. The amendments reduce the overall ambition of the Commission’s initial proposal, but introduce a more significant role for low-carbon steel procurement.
However, buyers remain uncertain whether even major steel-consuming industries such as automotive will be able to absorb the additional costs without passing them on to consumers through higher vehicle prices, potentially making imported cars more competitive.
A mill source said green steel premiums above EUR200/t were currently unattainable, with premiums fluctuating around EUR150/t for trial purchases and contracts. The source also estimated spot premiums for electric-arc furnace (EAF)-based HRC at EUR80–100/t.
Another mill source argued that the current premiums were only achievable for non-hydrogen-based steel and that they should be higher to cover hydrogen costs.
A Central European producer had been offering premiums of EUR160–180/t for contracts.
A distributor source estimated that spot buyers could currently absorb premiums of EUR50–100/t, provided the material was intended for a specific customer. Premiums of around EUR50/t were available only for mass-balanced material, the source added.
| Weekly European steel coil | |||||
| EUR/t | Term | 06-Nov-26 | Change | ||
| Weekly Northwest Europe steel coil | |||||
| Northwest Europe ex-works HRC | EX-WORKS | 770.00 | 10.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe ex-works CRC | EX-WORKS | 870.00 | 5.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe ex-works HDG | EX-WORKS | 860.00 | 10.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe CIF HRC | CIF | 650.00 | 10.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe DDP port HRC | DDP Port | 780.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Weekly South Europe steel coil | |||||
| Italy ex-works HRC | EX-WORKS | 750.00 | 10.00 | ||
| South Europe CIF HRC | CIF | 650.00 | 10.00 | ||
| South Europe DDP port HRC | DDP Port | 775.00 | 0.00 | ||
| South Europe CIF CRC | CIF | 720.00 | 0.00 | ||
| South Europe DDP port CRC | DDP Port | 865.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Show less… | |||||
| Source: McCloskey by OPIS. | |||||
| Weekly green steel | |||
| EUR/t | Term | 06-Nov-26 | Change |
| Green Northwest Europe HRC premium (scopes 1-3 CO2 under 0.8t) | 100.00 | 0.00 | |
| Green Northwest Europe ex-works HRC (scopes 1-3) | EX-WORKS | 870.00 | 10.00 |
| Green HRC premium (scopes 1-2 CO2 under 0.5t) | 100.00 | 0.00 | |
| Green Northwest Europe ex-works HRC (scopes 1-2) | EX-WORKS | 870.00 | 10.00 |
| Green HRC reduced carbon price (scopes 1-3) | 70.75 | 0.04 | |
© 2026 Dow Jones Energy Limited.
Author: Benjamin Steven and Maria Tanatar
