In Northern Europe, target offers for HRC with delivery in October were looming at €590-610 ($689-712) per tonne ex-works, but no transactions at the mentioned levels have been reported so far.
On August 19 several sources told Fastmarkets that a leading European steelmaker increased HRC prices for the third time over the past month, up by €20 per tonne to €630 per tonne ex-works or delivered for November lead times. But the mentioned steelmaker didn’t return Fastmarkets’ request for comment before publication.
“Most likely they booked their capacity [for September-October] and pushed for higher prices on the last bits,” a source familiar with the matter suggested.
Nonetheless, German and Benelux suppliers managed to achieve higher prices in transaction during August, with the market rebounding from the rock bottom levels registered in July.
Notably, buyers’ estimations of tradeable values were reported at €560-580 per tonne ex-works, with transactions reported within the mentioned range lately.
Some sources claimed that €550 per tonne ex-works was still achievable for large tonnages at some suppliers.
“Producers managed to recover some €20-30 per tonne from rock bottom prices, which is a positive sign, but the increase is not driven by improved demand — rather some precautions due to expectedly lower imports,” a buyer in Germany said. “New import offers for delivery in the first quarter of 2026 will fall under CBAM [Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism], and uncertainty also surrounds the early replacement of safeguard measures.”
Additionally, the European Commission ended its consultation on future trade measures to replace steel safeguards on Monday August 18, with most submissions from European companies and associations supporting long-term measures based on tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), Fastmarkets understands.
“This entire bullishness of the EU mills is fueled by expectations of much lower imports as of 2026,” a trading source said.
Sources claimed that this regulatory ambiguity was curbing buyers’ appetite for imports and, therefore, driving interest for domestically produced coil.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was €571.25 per tonne on August 19, down by €3.96 per tonne from €575.21 per tonne on August 18.
The Northern European index was up by €0.24 per tonne week on week and up by €19.58 per tonne month on month.
Meanwhile, the Italian market was still in “holiday mode” with most sources still absent.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was €537.50 per tonne on Tuesday, stable day on day.
The Italian index was down by €2.50 per tonne week on week, but up by €12.50 per tonne month on month.
