Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at €654.17 ($740.04) per tonne on Tuesday, up by €0.42 per tonne from €653.75 per tonne the previous day.
The Northern European index was down by €0.21 per tonne week on week, but up by €18.17 per tonne month on month.
Mills in Northern Europe continued offering June-July delivery HRC at €570-700 per tonne ex-works, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
However, trading in the region was largely quiet, with no significant transactions reported in the market.
Buyers’ estimations for the tradable market level for HRC in Northern Europe were at €640-660 per tonne ex-works.
“The market is quiet, we do not see any [increased] dynamics [in terms of buying]. [It] seems that customers are still evaluating [the current] situation, and demand is still not that big,” a producer source told Fastmarkets.
Another industry source told Fastmarkets that the uncertainty around the new US tariffs on aluminum and steel had a negative impact on the exports of different types of machinery from the EU.
This would also have some effect on the European HRC prices, which would probably stabilize around this level or even decrease slightly in the short run, according to the source.
However, prices would probably continue to increase in the second half of the year, considering the good order books of the European mills, the source added.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €631.50 per tonne on Tuesday, down by €1.00 per tonne from €632.50 per tonne the previous day.
The index was up by €0.25 per tonne week on week and by €11.50 per tonne month on month.
Offers of HRC in Italy were hovering around €640-660 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €630-650 per tonne ex-works.
An Italian supplier was heard selling some HRC volumes at €605 per tonne ex-works, industry sources told Fastmarkets. But this price level was an exception, with most transactions being concluded at €620-630 per tonne ex-works.
Buyers’ estimations for the tradable market level for HRC in Italy were close to this level at €620-640 per tonne ex-works.
Regarding imports, India was heard offering HRC to Italy at $630-640 per tonne CFR.
Turkey’s offers of HRC to Italy stood at €580-590 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
Julia Bolotova in Brussels contributed to this report.
