The European hot-rolled coil market remained quiet, with suppliers maintaining high offers for the first quarter despite resistance from buyers, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 6.
European HRC suppliers continued offering January-delivery material at higher prices, generally above €600 ($691) per tonne ex-works, counting on tighter imports supply due to Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and new trade regime to facilitate reliance on domestic material.
Besides, mills were not willing to step down due to looming negotiations of long-term contracts with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the automotive industry.
“Mills don’t want to weaken their position in auto contracts negotiations. Plus, the order book situation is okay — no rush to sell,” a steel service center in Germany said.
One integrated mill in the Benelux area was aiming for €630 per tonne ex-works for January-February delivery HRC.
A re-roller in the region was offering limited volumes of January-delivery HRC at €600 per tonne ex-works.
Leading European steelmakers were looking to get €650 per tonne ex-works for January-delivery coil.
German mills were offering January-delivery HRC around €620 per tonne ex-works.
Buyers, meanwhile, generally gave lower estimates of achievable prices for the first quarter of 2026, in the range of €590–610 per tonne ex-works.
“This “optimism” from suppliers is entirely driven by policies: CBAM and new trade regime. Demand is not increasing, and that’s the main obstacle for price rises,” a buyer in Germany said.
“European mills hope to increase [HRC] prices after, counting on the CBAM to interrupt imports in the first quarter of 2026,” a second buyer said.
Suppliers that spoke to Fastmarkets estimated achievable prices for January at a minimum of €610–620 per tonne ex-works.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €602.67 per tonne on Thursday, up slightly from €600 per tonne on Wednesday November 5.
The index was down by €1.08 per tonne week on week, but up by €27.67 per tonne month on month.
Meanwhile, no considerable progress was reported in long-term contracts negotiations with automotive OEMS for the first half and the full year of 2026.
“Mills aim for substantially higher prices [for long-term contracts for 2026], over €100 per tonne increase, but buyers are not ready to accept such rises,” a steel service center said.
One mill was heard to be aiming to get €765 per tonne for a full year contract for a tonnage over 10,000 tonnes.
In Southern Europe, meanwhile, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €592.50 per tonne on Thursday, down by €1.67 per tonne from €594.17 per tonne on Wednesday.
The index was down by €0.83 per tonne week on week, but up by €47.50 per tonne month on month.
Trading in Italy was also quiet on Tuesday, Fastmarkets understands.
Buyers estimated achievable prices for December delivery HRC around €580-590 per tonne ex-works, while for January delivery, mills were aiming for “above €600 per tonne ex-works.”
Notably, one Italian mill was targeting around €630 per tonne delivered (about €615 ex-works).
One deal for December-delivery HRC was reported at €590 per tonne ex-works.
In the secondary market, a 4 mm HR sheet was trading around €660-680 per tonne CPT, unchanged week on week.
The market for imported coil was broadly stable, with buyers taking cautious approach to new bookings due to CBAM related risks and uncertainty around new trade regime.
“There are some really attractive offers on the table, but CBAM and the new safeguard rules have created too much uncertainty,” a buyer in Italy said. “You don’t know the final price of your imports, that’s the main issue,” they added.
