European heavy plate round-up: European heavy plate moves higher on feedstock concerns

European heavy plate prices increased in the week to 6 March. Re-rollers have withdrawn previous offers and are preparing to increase prices.

In Italy, the latest deals for heavy plate have been settled at EUR720-750/t ex-works, up by around EUR15/t on week.

European re-rollers rely on imported slab, mainly from Asia. The geopolitical situation in the Middle East caused deliveries from Asia to Europe to be rerouted from the Suez Canal to the Cape of Good Hope, adding at least two weeks to shipments already on their way. Freight rates also increased and might move further up.

Import offers for slab from Asia have increased due to the situation, with fresh offers reported at $550-580/t CFR Italy. Contributing to higher costs, the euro’s decline against the US dollar has made slab imports more costly.

In addition, market sources were concerned that due to an absence of slab exports from Iran to Asia, global slab supply will become squeezed as local mills will focus on trading within the region. After slab supply from the Black Sea decreased, European re-rollers have been relying on Asian feedstock. This might push slab prices further up, market sources believe.

The rise of energy prices in the EU also supported the bullish sentiment of the European steelmakers.

“The higher gas prices hit re-rollers hard, as that is critical for slab re-heating. And due to rerouting of slab deliveries there will be delays, it is unclear how severe they would be. This can cause delays in heavy plate deliveries from re-rollers and this will fuel the bullish sentiment,” a mill source said.

European re-rollers already had been exposed to higher costs due to the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from 2026. Re-rollers estimated CBAM duties for imported slab at EUR30-80/t based on actual emission values. But until exporters obtain the certifications – in 2027 for imports during 2026 – European re-rollers risk that the duties would be calculated based on default values resulting in substantially higher costs.

Heavy plate offers in Germany have also increased to EUR770-800/t ex-works.