Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil edged down slightly in Italy and remained almost unchanged in Northern Europe, with the market mostly quiet on Wednesday August 5 and no significant development heard, sources told Fastmarkets.
In Northern Europe, offers were quoted at €715-750 ($823-864) per tonne ex-works, with September delivery material still available in the market, although the upper end of the range was not attracting buyers’ interest. Meanwhile, workable prices were indicated at €715-730 per tonne ex-works.
Sources said the market was quiet, with only small quantities available for sale. On the other hand, a distributor said there was sufficient stock at ports in Antwerp, adding that the real impact from the reduced import quotas would be felt in September-October.
“It is deep summer. No one is buying anything. Everyone is concerned with clearing customs and CBAM [Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism] formalities for what has arrived previously, and the demand is lousy,” a trade source said on Wednesday.
Previous levels of workable prices were reported at €710-740 per tonne ex-works on Tuesday August 4, which were carried over to August 5’s index due to the limited fresh input on Wednesday.
“Demand is very weak (and we have no real holiday season in Germany), therefore I see first bigger volumes by end of August, and then we might judge prices,” a second trade source said, without indicating achievable levels.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €716.67 per tonne on August 5, up by €0.42 per tonne from €716.25 per tonne on August 4.
The index was up by €8.67 per tonne week on week and up by €21.67 per tonne month on month.
In the Italian HRC market, activity was very slow due to the traditional August summer holiday period.
Offers were reported at €710-715 per tonne ex-works and workable prices were indicated in the range of €700-710 per tonne ex-works.
The corresponding Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €708.75 per tonne on August 5, down by €1.88 per tonne from €710.63 per tonne a day earlier.
The index was up by €1.25 per tonne week on week and up by €32.08 per tonne month on month.
