Market participants reported limited activity, with mills struggling to push through price increases.
“At the moment, we’re not seeing any notable changes, neither in pricing nor in demand,” a distributor in Italy said. “While the mills continue to push for increases, their efforts haven’t gained traction so far.
“Prices remain under pressure and, in some cases, reflect the urgency of sellers needing liquidity, particularly those without their own financial stock,” the distributor added.
Fastmarkets’ monthly price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 304, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was €2,300-2,400 ($2,699-2,816) per tonne on Friday October 3, unchanged month-on-month.
The corresponding price for grade 316 was slightly higher month on month, restoring the industry-standard premium over grade 304 at €1,300 per tonne, in line with higher alloy surcharge costs.
Fastmarkets’ monthly price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 316, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was €3,600-3,700 ($4,225-4,342) per tonne on Friday, widening upwards from €3,600-3,650 per tonne a month earlier.
Fastmarkets’ monthly assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet 316 2mm alloy surcharge domestic, Europe was €3,187-3,283 per tonne on October 3, up by €60-70 per tonne from €3,127-3,213 per tonne on September 5.
Stainless steel producers reported lead times of four to five weeks.
Inventory levels remain high in Italy and Poland, according to a producer in the south of Europe, while levels in the central and western regions are closer to normal.
“[Offer] prices for November delivery [are] increasing [by] about €20 per tonne,” the producer said.
But other market participants said that the willingness of some mills to raise their prices had not translated into actual transactions, with concluded business continuing to reflect current market levels.
“We hear every month that mills want to increase prices by €20 per tonne, but it never happens. Everyone is stocking up imported material ahead of 2026 due to CBAM and new safeguard [measures],” a distributor in Spain said.
The distributor added that some buyers were avoiding imports scheduled to arrive after January 2026, when CBAM is due to take effect.
The European Commission is expected to publish a legal proposal on new trade measures to replace existing safeguards on Tuesday October 7. According to sources, the proposal could include halving duty-free import allowances and raising out-of-quota tariffs to as much as 50%.
