Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at €554.38 ($599.16) per tonne on Wednesday, down by €1.04 per tonne from €555.42 per tonne the previous day.
The index was up by €4.38 per tonne week on week and up by €12.71 per tonne month on month.
Mills in Northern Europe were heard pushing for higher prices for the first quarter of 2025, Fastmarkets understands.
Offers for January-delivery HRC were reported at €600-620 per tonne ex-works, with some suppliers offering even at €640 per tonne ex-works.
These levels have not been sealed in deals yet, sources told Fastmarkets.
Material with delivery in the fourth quarter of 2024 was available at lower levels. Transactions for December-delivery HRC were reported at €550-570 per tonne ex-works, while offers for such material were around €570-580 per tonne ex-works.
Buyers, however, were skeptical that mills would succeed in implementing the targeted price rise for the beginning of the next year.
A buyer source told Fastmarkets that just a few weeks ago HRC in Northern Europe was traded at €520-530 per tonne ex-works. The source questioned the sustainability of the new higher offers announced for the first quarter of 2025, which were as high as €600-640 per tonne ex-works.
“This is the same economy and the same outlook,” the source said, adding that demand for HRC is still low in Europe.
The latest report of the European steel industry association Eurofer indicated that apparent steel consumption would not recover in 2024, but some rebound could be expected for the next year.
A second buyer source described the new offers from mills as “wishful thinking”.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy at €551.43 per tonne on Wednesday, up by €2.80 per tonne from €548.63 per tonne the previous day.
The Italian index was up by €3.05 per tonne week on week and up by €12.43 per tonne month on month.
Suppliers in Italy were offering December-delivery HRC at €570-580 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €560-570 per tonne ex-works, Fastmarkets heard.
Large volumes of HRC could still be traded at €540-550 per tonne ex-works, but the workable market level for small to medium tonnages was estimated at €560 per tonne ex-works, according to market participants.
Import prices remained uncompetitive and no fresh business was concluded on Wednesday, sources told Fastmarkets.
In Italy, November-shipment HRC from Turkey was on offer at €580-590 per tonne CFR to Italy, including the anti-dumping duty, while Asian material was offered at €550-570 per tonne CFR, but buyers’ estimates for the tradeable market level was lower, at €530 per tonne CFR.
Published by: Darina Kahramanova