European hot-rolled coil prices were stable to slightly weaker on Wednesday July 24 amid low demand, but mills are looking to increase prices for fourth-quarter deliveries, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel HRC index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €626.25 ($680.53) per tonne on Wednesday, down by €2.00 per tonne from €628.25 per tonne on Tuesday July 23.
The index was down by €1.50 per tonne week on week and by €5.75 per tonne month on month.
Buying in the region was seasonally slow. Sources said that most buyers have already secured the necessary volumes for September-delivery coil so were not active in the market.
“Trading is very dull. Buyers are not looking for volumes, but mills still have a lot [of HRC] to sell for September delivery,” one buyer in the Benelux area told Fastmarkets.
Most sources confirmed that European producers still have September-delivery HRC available.
Offers from integrated mills in the region for HRC with lead times of four to five weeks were still heard at €625-650 per tonne ex-works. But deals were mainly done at the lower end of the range, or even below that.
In Germany, transactions for September-delivery HRC were heard done at €620-625 per tonne ex-works from local suppliers, according to sources. One mill was said to be accepting €610 per tonne ex-works for bigger tonnages.
In the Benelux area, one supplier was heard to be selling September-delivery HRC at €600-620 per tonne ex-works.
Another mill in the Benelux area was selling September-delivery HRC at €630-640 per tonne ex-works. For October delivery, the supplier’s offer was heard at €660 per tonne ex-works. But buyers have so far deemed this offer unworkable.
In general, most suppliers in the region were looking to achieve some €20-30 per tonne ex-works for HRC with lead times in the fourth quarter, expecting apparent demand to pick up in September and support the increase.
Buyer sources were skeptical about the possibility of a price rebound, considering the lack of demand and oversupply in the market
“September-delivery [HRC] purchases have already been finalized by most buyers. There is very little activity in the market. Even if demand picks up in September, there will be plenty of [HRC] volumes to accommodate it,” a buyer in Germany told Fastmarkets.
Meanwhile, in Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel HRC index domestic, exw Italy at €621.25 per tonne on Wednesday, stable day on day.
The index was up by €0.62 per tonne week on week, but down by €6.25 per tonne month on month.
September-delivery HRC from a local mill was heard offered at €640-650 per tonne delivered (€630-640 per tonne ex-works).
Buyer estimates of tradable prices were around €610-620 per tonne ex-works.
In the secondary market, 3-6mm HR sheet was still heard to be trading in the range of €710-730 per tonne CPT, broadly stable over the past seven days.
Import offers from Asia were limited, source said.
Vietnam-origin coil was heard offered at €620 per tonne FCA Antwerp, but lead times were reported to be in January 2025.
To Italy, HRC from Vietnam and Taiwan was offered at €570 per tonne CFR.
But sources said that interest in Asia-origin coil was quite low due to quota-related risks.
Offers of HRC from Turkey were available at €590-610 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty.
Overseas suppliers were offering September- or early-October-shipment HRC to Europe.
Published by: Julia Bolotova
