Several market sources who claimed to have seen the draft document of the measures, which will replace the current safeguard system, said that they will have disruptive effect on import prices. But until this information becomes public, the situation creates a lack of confidence, which also has an effect on the domestic trade.
“There is good business, but it is mostly back to back trade,” a supplier from Northern Europe told Fastmarkets.
Market sources in the region estimated workable prices to vary within the range of €570-580 per tonne ex-works for HRC with lead times of 4-6 weeks, but prices for material traded in the first quarter of 2026 are expected to shift amid the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which takes effect on January 1, 2026.
Current sales volumes and prices were, however, said to be somewhat limited by “careful management of stocks” amid approaching year end.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was €575 ($674) per tonne on Thursday October 2, unchanged day on day.
The Northern European index dropped by €2.71 week on week, but was stable month on month.
The Italian domestic hot-rolled coil market was also determined by limited trading.
One source estimated the workable price range at €540-550 per tonne ex-works, but another source provided an estimate of €550 per tonne ex-works as a level at which most recent business were done, pointing out to the fact that initiation of an anti-dumping investigation targeting import from five countries resulted in higher demand for domestic material and allowed one of the key suppliers to secure significant volumes with local buyers.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €548.75 per tonne ex-works on Friday, up by €2.92 per tonne from €545.83 per tonne on Thursday.
The Italian index was down by €1.88 per tonne week on week and by €0.42 per tonne month on month.
Interest in imported material was virtually absent, as buyers reportedly sought to avoid the need for customs clearance in the first quarter of 2026 amid ongoing uncertainty over the final valuation of goods under the incoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which continues to raise unanswered questions. Therefore, customer’s focus was said to be on domestic supply.
Central European hot-rolled coil prices were stable in the week to Wednesday October 1, with demand remaining mostly moderate.
Market sources estimated workable levels at around €570-585 per tonne ex-works this week, the same as the previous assessments.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, exw Central Europe was also €570-585 per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.
Davide Montagner in London contributed to this report
