European hot-rolled coil prices were slightly weaker on Tuesday May 26, amid persistently weak demand from buyers with sufficient stocks, sources told Fastmarkets.
In Northern Europe, buyers estimates of the achievable price came in at €660-690 ($768-803) per tonne for June-July delivery, with the lower end of the range for larger tonnages of more than 5,000 tonnes.
Earlier in May, one leading European steelmaker and integrated mills in Germany were selling July delivery HRC at quite aggressive prices, sources said, at around €675-685 per tonne delivered (€660-670 per tonne ex-works), to try and fill gaps in their summer order books. But demand remained limited and only a few buyers were looking for large tonnages.
Transactional prices were way below the official offer prices for HRC from local integrated mills in Germany and the Benelux region, at around €710-730 per tonne delivered (€695-715 per tonne ex-works) – although one integrated mill in the Benelux area remained inactive after experiencing issues with equipment.
“Stocks are more than sufficient [and] some service centers said they don’t need material until September,” a buyer in Germany said.
“HRC sales from stock dropped by around 20% in April 2026 compared with March. And in May it will be even lower – we on;y had 17 working days in May due to numerous public holidays,” the buyer added.
Having achieved some orders for July, however, sources said European producers were becoming less flexible on pricing.
“[A leading European steelmaker] collected enough orders for July, then stopped aggressive sales,” a second buyer in Germany said.
“The [steelmaker] is likely to come back with higher offers shortly [and] mills hope the new safeguards [will help] prices to rebound later in the year,” the buyer added.
On Tuesday, several sources told Fastmarkets that leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal was aiming for an increase of €80 per tonne for new offers, with the latest offers from the supplier for June-July delivery HRC heard at €730 per tonne delivered – although no confirmed transactions at that level have been reported recently.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €676.46 per tonne on May 26, down by €3.54 per tonne from €680.00 per tonne on May 22.
Fastmarkets’ European HRC index was not published on May 25 because of the Spring Bank Holiday in the UK, but the index was down €5.54 per tonne week on week on Tuesday and by €33.54 per tonne month on month.
In Southern Europe, meanwhile, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €673.77 per tonne ex-works on Tuesday, down by €3.73 per tonne from €677.50 per tonne on May 22.
The index was down by €5.61 per tonne week on week and by €26.23 per tonne month on month.
Italian mills were offering July delivery coil at around €700 per tonne delivered (€685 per tonne ex-works), but most sources said the realistic transaction level in Italy was no higher than €680-690 per tonne delivered (€665-675 per tonne ex-works).
A transaction for 1,000 tonnes was heard at around €675 per tonne ex-works for July delivery, sources said.
One local re-roller in southern Europe, which had suspended HRC production at the beginning of April due to technical issues, is now expected to resume operations in June, sources told Fastmarkets
In the secondary market, sales of 4mm S235-grade HR sheet fell back to €750-770 per tonne CPT in Italy, down from €780-800 per tonne CPT at the end of April.
Import market activity remained subdued across Europe, meanwhile, amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding the structure of the EU’s new trade regime, which is set to come into force in July 2026, combined with a lack of clarity around costs associated with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). These factors have continued to weigh on buyer sentiment and restrain interest in new import bookings, with no fresh offers heard in the market on Tuesday.
