Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe increased slightly on Wednesday June 3, supported by higher offers from suppliers, while Italian prices declined, weighed by slow trading activity and weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets.
In Northern Europe, two buyers reported an offer at €695 per tonne ex-works on June 3 and a third buyer indicated workable levels at €680 per tonne ex-works in Northwest Europe.
No significant trading activity was heard during the day. One buyer said the market was very quiet due to the gap between mill offers and the levels buyers were willing to pay. “Nobody is ready to compromise in the middle,” the source added.
The buyer said customers remained reluctant to accept higher offers from suppliers because they held sufficient stock or could buy from ports at lower prices, around €700 per tonne delivered (€685 per tonne ex-works), adding that “everybody is in wait-and-see mode.”
The buyer source said mills had initiated price increases of €50-80 per tonne for third-quarter material, targeting €740-780 per tonne ex-works, but no firm offers at these levels had been announced yet.
Meanwhile, a second buyer said steel demand, particularly from the automotive sector, could weaken due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and slowing global car sales.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €690.00 ($802.89) per tonne on June 3, up by €2.50 per tonne from €687.50 per tonne on June 2.
The index was up by €3.50 per tonne week on week but down by €22.25 per tonne month on month.
In Central Europe, HRC offers varied within the range of €710-730 per tonne delivered (€695-715 per tonne ex-works), depending on the supplier. Workable levels were said to be closer to €705 per tonne delivered, or €690 per tonne ex-works, with market sources noting that mills were unwilling to go below this threshold.
As a result, Fastmarkets weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil domestic, exw Central Europe was €690-705 per tonne on June 3, up from €685-695 per tonne on May 27.
In Italy, the domestic HRC market remained quiet following Tuesday’s Republic Day holiday. Sources reported limited trading activity, linking this to weak demand and uncertainty over country-specific allocations for EU steel import quotas.
“It’s important for large buyers to have the final import quotas and understand what can be booked for the same period from imports and at which prices. So, even more reasons to wait and not to book today,” a mill source said on Wednesday.
Two mill sources reported indications at €670-690 per tonne ex-works on June 3. One producer said they were offering HRC at €680-700 per tonne ex-works and noted that steel service centers were unlikely to pay above €660-670 per tonne delivered, or €645-655 per tonne ex-works.
The same source added that, given the current market conditions, “realistically, nothing higher than €660-670 per tonne ex-works is possible” for July-August bookings.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €672.75 per tonne on Wednesday, down by €4.75 per tonne from €677.50 per tonne on Tuesday June 2.
The index was up by €1.25 per tonne week on week but down by €17.50 per tonne month on month.[HC1]
Turkish HRC offers were reported around €600 per tonne CIF Italy, excluding anti-dumping duty, unchanged from June 2, but buying interest remained limited, a buyer source said on June 3, adding that “Turkish exporters had already secured significant sales into the EU, increasing the risk of exceeding import quotas.”
Meanwhile, HRC from Asia and Algeria was offered at €720-750 per tonne DDP Southern European ports.
