Weak demand from key end-user sectors, especially the automotive and construction industries, kept trading quiet in both CRC and HDG markets across Europe.
Mills have thin order books with September lead times still widely available.
Sources said that some European suppliers were mulling some €20-30 ($22-33) per tonne increases after the summer holidays to reflect higher input costs, but buyers claimed weak demand was unsupportive of higher prices.
In Italy, offers for HDG were heard at €750 per tonne delivered, which nets back to €740 per tonne ex-works.
Buyers’ estimates of achievable prices were heard around €720-730 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil domestic, ex-works Southern Europe was €730-740 per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing downward from €730-750 per tonne seven days ago.
Import offers were rare in the assessment week.
Several sources reported offers from Indian suppliers for 2mm HDG with z120-140 coating at €740-755 per tonne CFR to Italy.
Meanwhile, firm offers of CRC from European mills were rare due to high costs of production and competition with imports in commodity-grade markets.
In Italy, only one supplier was offering CRC, with offers reported at €740 per tonne delivered (€730 per tonne ex-works), and buyers’ estimates of tradeable values heard at €710-730 per tonne delivered at the highest (€700-720 per tonne ex-works).
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil domestic, ex-works Southern Europe was unchanged at €720-725 per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing downward by €5 per tonne from €720-730 per tonne last week.
Meanwhile, offers from Japan and South Korea for September-shipment CRC to Southern Europe were heard at €670-675 per tonne CFR in the week to Wednesday.
Sources pointed out that the European market for commodity-grade CRC was dominated by imports due to price disparity.
Published by: Julia Bolotova
