European coil prices remained largely stable in the week to 8 May while trading activity remained muted and the majority of steelmakers still have June shipment coil.
Buyers have been avoiding restocking beyond filling gaps for particular specifications in their portfolio. The slowdown in apparent demand has also been driven by a lack of clarity regarding new import quotas to be implemented as part of new safeguard measures due to take effect from 1 July. While the general framework is clear, including a reduction of quotas by 47% and doubling duties to 50%, no decision has been announced regarding country-specific quotas.
The lack of clarity has led buyers to shift from import to domestic suppliers, but overseas material already custom-cleared in the EU has been available at more competitive prices compared to domestic coil, according to market sources.
Some revival in demand is expected once the new quotas are revealed, and buyers will be able to plan their purchases.
The reduced availability of imported coil and impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) failed to prevent domestic price declines.
“European prices lost momentum and the support from CBAM, reduced import volumes, and tougher trade measures did not prevent the decrease,” a distributor said.
While the majority of market sources agreed that different mills aligned their hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices on an ex-works basis at the lower end of last week’s range, they also do not see a significant decline in delivered prices due to rising transportation costs.
In Northwest Europe, deals and workable prices for June-July shipment domestic HRC have been reported at EUR680-695/t ex-works. Some official offers remained higher – at around EUR700/t ex-works.
In Italy, domestic HRC prices have been heard at EUR570-590/t ex-works.
Import availability remained limited as some exporters were holding back offers awaiting a final decision on quotas.
In South Europe, a Turkish steelmaker has been offering HRC at EUR590-600/t CIF Italy, including anti-dumping duties. Buyers showed limited interest in the material as Turkish mills have already sold significant volumes to the EU and they are likely to exceed quotas, exposing potential importers to 50% duties.
Offers of HRC from Thailand have been reported at EUR660-670/t CIF and from Algeria – at around EUR670/t CIF.
Availability of imported HRC custom-cleared in 2025, before CBAM came into force, remained high and at prices more competitive than both new import offers and domestic prices – around EUR640-650/t DDP.
New offers of HRC from Asia have been reported at EUR700/t DDP European ports.
Green steel market
Spot buyers have largely continued to avoid booking green steel due to concerns over additional cost risks. However, demand from end users and projects has shown some improvement amid efforts toward meeting decarbonisation targets.
In particular, the construction and automotive sectors find lower-CO2 steel an effective and relatively straightforward way to reduce their carbon footprints.
End users have been accepting higher premiums, whereas spot buyers have generally only been willing to pay EUR80–100/t, mainly for back-to-back transactions.
| Weekly European steel coil | |||||
| EUR/t | Term | 08-May-26 | Change | ||
| Weekly Northwest Europe steel coil | |||||
| Northwest Europe ex-works HRC | EX-WORKS | 685.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe ex-works CRC | EX-WORKS | 820.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe ex-works HDG | EX-WORKS | 820.00 | 5.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe CIF HRC | CIF | 620.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe DDP port HRC | DDP Port | 720.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Show more… | |||||
| Source: McCloskey by OPIS. | © 2026 Dow Jones Energy Limited. | ||||
| Weekly green steel | |||
| EUR/t | Term | 08-May-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 | 785.00 | 0.00 |
| 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 | 785.00 | 0.00 |
| Green HRC reduced carbon price (scopes 1-3) | 74.66 | 0.00 | |
Author: Benjamin Steven & Maria Tanatar
