European hot-rolled coil prices moved higher amid reduced availability on Monday January 16, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €717.88 ($777.51) per tonne on Monday, up by €7.17 per tonne from €710.71 per tonne on Friday.
The latest calculation of the index was up by €10.38 per tonne week on week and by €73.09 per tonne month on month.
European mills generally have good order books, with most offering HRC with April delivery.
One mill in Germany said it was sold out for April as well.
Output cuts, implemented by many European mills in the fourth quarter of 202, are finally starting to be felt in the market, compensating for still-limited end-user demand. Aggressive HRC sales in December also contributed to the tighter availability.
Official offers ranged between €750 per tonne and €780 per tonne EXW from producers in the region.
Tradeable values heard from buyers were between €700 and €730 per tonne EXW on Monday.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was €708.75 per tonne on Monday, up by €12.12 per tonne from €696.63 per tonne on Friday.
The latest calculation of the index was up by €19.58 per tonne week on week and by €80.42 per tonne month on month.
Local mills were offering HRC to the market at around €750 per tonne delivered, according to sources – equivalent to €720-730 per tonne EXW.
Some buyers estimated tradeable values at €690-700 per tonne EXW, but these levels were not considered workable by most mills.
Italian steel producers were said to be able to offer March-delivery coil
Offers of HRC to Europe from India and Southeast Asia were consolidating at around €700-710 per tonne CFR Italy for March-April shipment.
But this level is not considered workable by European buyers, given the small gap with domestic offers, the longer lead times and safeguard-related risks.
Published by: Julia Bolotova
