Several sources said that European mills were aiming for a price increase of around €20 ($22) per tonne for HRC with lead times early in the fourth quarter.
Offers from some integrated mills in northern Europe for such material were heard at €650-670 per tonne ex-works or delivered.
But sources said that €630-640 per tonne ex-works for September-delivery coil was still “negotiable.”
Italy-origin coil for September delivery was heard offered to Germany at €650-660 per tonne delivered.
“Mills try to raise prices, but distributors take a wait-and-see mode,” a buyer in the Benelux area said.
But sources said that most mills still have not closed order books for September-delivery coil, so a price increase was still uncertain.
“Order books for September still need to be filled, [most] mills need orders, so this push for an increase doesn’t look realistic,” a buyer source in Germany said.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €632.50 per tonne on Thursday, up slightly by €0.83 per tonne from €631.67 on Wednesday July 10.
The index was up by €1.37 per tonne week on week but down by €2.92 per tonne month on month.
Industry sources once again claimed that steel output cuts could be “a real game changer” for the oversupplied European HRC market, but integrated suppliers have not confirmed any equipment stoppages so far.
Meanwhile, in Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its corresponding daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €626.25 per tonne on Thursday, down by €2.50 per tonne from €628.75 per tonne on Wednesday.
The index was up by €2.50 per tonne week on week but down by €5.00 per tonne month on month.
In Italy, September-delivery HRC was offered by a local supplier at €640-650 per tonne delivered, which corresponds to €630-640 per tonne ex-works.
Buyer sources estimated achievable prices at slightly lower levels – €620-630 per tonne ex-works.
But trading in Italy was sluggish, with mainly hand-to-mouth booking for small tonnages reported in the week.
The import HRC market was also silent; key Asian suppliers – Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan – have exceeded their allocation for third-quarter deliveries, Fastmarkets reported.
Offers of HRC from Turkey were available at €610 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty.
