European green flat steel spot trading remained thin during the week to Thursday June 4, although some sellers were able to secure higher premiums in isolated transactions, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets defines green steel as material with combined Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions not exceeding 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel produced.
Suppliers continued to seek premiums largely in the range of €150-200 ($211-234) per tonne, whereas customers’ price ideas were said to vary greatly depending on whether it is a spot market purchase or offtake agreement.
Overall, the spot market remained quiet, with most buyers either unwilling to pay a premium at all or providing indications below mills’ targets.
Nevertheless, one of the sellers said that he managed to achieve as high as €170-200 per tonne in recent sales.
Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment of the green steel domestic, flat-rolled, differential to HRC index, exw Northern Europe widened to €100-200 per tonne on July 4 from €100-170 per tonne on May 28.
Another producer source confirmed the split between spot and long-term demand, explaining that currently consumers such as the automotive or white goods industries do not need much green steel as the models that they produce now are still in accordance with old standards – on top of that, they reduce their carbon footprint by reducing their emissions under Scope 1 and 2.
The closer production is to 2030, the stricter the requirements will be for the reduction of carbon footprint, and this is when new models requiring green steel will be produced.
A trading source added that current demand for green steel is extremely low as the market is facing other challenges like uncertainties connected with the import segment and economic instability triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.
