The European hot-rolled coil market was mostly stable on Wednesday October 15 following recent pushes by mills to raise offer prices, which have drawn some resistance from buyers, sources told Fastmarkets.
On Monday, leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal announced that it had raised its offers for HRC for December to €630 ($729) per tonne and for January to €650 per tonne ex-works or delivered.
Other mills in the region are also expected to increase their offers, Fastmarkets heard this week.
The market remains divided while it assesses the feasibility of these higher offers amid weak buyer demand, sources said.
Sentiment remains bullish, however, with new trade regulations and the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) expected to limit imports in 2026.
“Mills are asking for higher prices, but customers are very reluctant at the moment,” a distributor source told Fastmarkets.
“The market is split – the general consumption is not very good, stable, but at a low level,” the source said, adding that most market participants believe that prices will increase.
Some buyers in Northern Europe estimated tradable levels around €580-600 per tonne ex-works, but no sales were heard during the day.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was €589 per tonne on October 15, up by €0.25 per tonne from October 14.
The index was up €10.25 per tonne week on week and by €8.69 per tonne month on month.
The market for imported coil to Northern Europe was quiet, with only a few offers reported over the week to Wednesday.
Offers from Turkey were heard at €530 per tonne delivered, including duties, while offers from Libya stood at €490 per tonne CFR.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, import, cfr main port Northern Europe was €500-520 per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.
Meanwhile, the Italian market was also mostly stable, with estimates of the workable level heard hovering €570-580 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy dropped slightly to €576.67 per tonne on Wednesday, a €1.45 per tonne declined from Tuesday.
The Italian index was up by €31.67 per tonne week on week and by €27.92 per tonne month on month.
Regarding imported coil to Southern Europe, offers from Turkey were reported at €520 per tonne CFR, including duties.
Offers from India were also reported at €520 per tonne CFR.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, import, cfr main port Southern Europe was €485-520 per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.
