A number of market participants said on Thursday that mills in Northern Europe almost closed their order books for December delivery within the range of €580-590 ($673-684) per tonne ex-works and have only minor tonnages left to be sold.
Meanwhile, customers’ estimates of workable levels for January delivery material were within the range of €600-620 per tonne against mills’ targets of €620-650 per tonne ex-works, depending on supplier.
Mills started to actively increase offers following the European Commission unveiling a proposal for sweeping reforms of its steel import safeguards, suggesting cuts in tariff-free quotas by about 47% and imposing a steep 50% ad valorem duty on any volumes beyond the new threshold earlier in October.
The approaching introduction of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) starting January 1, 2026, is another factor playing into local producers’ hand as climate policy will price carbon emissions embedded in imported steel goods so that products that enter the EU face the same carbon costs as EU produced goods.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was €600 per tonne on Thursday, up by €2.86 per tonne from €597.14 per tonne on Wednesday October 22.
The index rose by €8.75 per tonne week on week and by €21.25 per tonne month on month.
Fastmarkets’ corresponding daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €590 per tonne on Thursday, up by €1.67 per tonne from €588.33 per tonne on Wednesday.
The Italian index was up by €8.33 per tonne week on week and by €40.00 per tonne month on month.
The sharp rise in Italian domestic prices was attributed to the fact that this market was more exposed to import, while competition in the domestic market was limited.
Market sources estimated workable HRC prices in Italy in the range of €580-600 per tonne ex-works on Thursday. A sell-side source reported deals at the lower end of the range.
Another Italian producer, however, flagged 40,000 tonnes of Indonesian HRC being booked by a compatriot mill at €465-470 per tonne CFR, with delivery scheduled for early 2026.
