Domestic prices for cold-rolled and hot-dipped galvanized coil moved down in Europe in the week ended July 13 due to limited demand.
Platts assessed CRC in Northern Europe at Eur950/mt ex-works Ruhr and assessed HDG in the region at Eur1,015/mt ex-works Ruhr, down Eur25 and Eur5 on the week, respectively, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data.
Market sources estimated achievable prices for CRC at Eur940-970/mt ex-works Ruhr.
One source also said that if a producer got an opportunity to sell 5,000 mt, prices could move down to around Eur900/mt ex-works.
Domestic HRC prices have been heard in a wide range from Eur980/mt ex-works Northern Europe to Eur1,050/mt ex-works Northern Europe.
A producer said that a deal for HDG has been settled at Eur1,000/mt delivered Northern Europe, the equivalent of Eur980/mt ex-works. Another trader confirmed the price as a tradable value.
Another steelmaker reported a transaction at Eur1,025/mt ex-works Northern Europe and estimated achievable prices at Eur1,020-1,050/mt ex-works.
Tradable values were estimated within a Eur1,020-1,060/mt ex-works range by three sources.
Trading activity remained muted despite anticipation that restocking would start in July. Production cuts across Europe, as well as some reported demand recovery from the automotive industry, was expected to support domestic downstream coil prices.
“Automotive industry is definitely doing better, they have enough components to produce cars so they need steel. At least now,” a German source said. “But the recovery will not bring demand anywhere close to normal level, unfortunately.”
Offers of imported CRC in Northern Europe have been heard at Eur850/mt CFR Antwerp.
In South Europe, Platts assessed CRC at Eur885/mt ex-works Italy July 13, down by Eur15 week on week. HDG was assessed at Eur915/mt ex-works Southern Europe, down by Eur5 week on week.
Tradable values for domestic CRC have been heard at Eur880-890/mt ex-works Italy, while HDG was heard at Eur900-930/mt ex-works Italy.
— Maria Tanatar
