European cold-rolled and hot-dipped galvanized coil prices were largely unchanged in the week ended July 27, with very little trading in the market, Fastmarkets heard. European buyers showed little interest in purchasing CRC or HDG due to still-high stocks.
Stockholders and steel-service centers were mainly focused on selling off devaluing stocks rather than buying more tonnages, Fastmarkets heard.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, domestic, exw Northern Europe remained at €950 ($964) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from last week.
Producers in the region estimated the workable price level at €950-980 per tonne exw, while buyers were reluctant to pay higher than €950 per tonne exw, Fastmarkets heard.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, domestic, exw Southern Europe was €870-880 per tonne on Wednesday, also stable week on week.
The assessment was a reflection of deals, the lower end of offers and market sources’ estimation of achievable prices.
Transactions were rare in Italy’s market during the reported week, sources said.
Some CRC offers from Indonesia were reported to Southern Europe at €815-830 per tonne cfr during the week, but no fresh transactions were heard. India-origin CRC was available to the region at €830-840 per tonne cfr.
Sources were cautiously optimistic about the post-holiday prospects for downstream flat steel due to likely automotive demand recovery.
Some large car makers in Germany have announced plans to increase production in September, although automotive output is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels in the mid-term, sources said.
“I think we can say there is likely to be some normalization [of automotive production] in the fourth quarter of 2022, but all forecasts are very unreliable because, let’s not forget, we have a war going on the middle of Europe [in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine],” a trading source in Belgium said.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil, domestic, exw Northern Europe was unchanged week on week at €1,000-1,020 per tonne on Wednesday.
Some transactions for limited tonnages were reported in Germany at the lower end of the price range during the week.
Fastmarkets’ corresponding weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil, domestic, exw Southern Europe was €880-890 per tonne on Wednesday, also stable week on week.
Published by: Julia Bolotova
