Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at €563.75 ($587.38) per tonne on November 25, up by only €1.25 per tonne from €562.50 per tonne on Friday.
The index was up by €0.42 per tonne week on week and by €13.75 per tonne month on month.
Spot market trading for HRC in the region remained quiet amid deteriorating end-user demand because of the uncertainty about the first quarter.
Most first-tier integrated steelmakers in Europe have set target offer prices for January-February coil at €600-620 per tonne ex-works, with some suppliers even hoping for €640 per tonne for March-delivery material.
But low consumption was not supportive of the producers’ bullishness, market sources said.
“We can only hope for a price rebound [for HRC] closer to the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter next year, when a lack of imports will start to be apparent in the market and when, we hope, there will be restocking,” a buyer in Germany said.
Buyers’ estimates of tradeable values for HRC in the region were heard at €550-570 per tonne ex-works, and even as low as €540 per tonne ex-works from some sources.
But producer sources were not confirming €540-550 per tonne ex-works as being workable for first-quarter trades.
“Some discounts were possible for November-December [delivery] material [but] for January €600 [per tonne ex-works] is a minimum,” a mill source said.
At the same time, a buyer source reported a transaction for January delivery material at €560-570 per tonne ex-works from one supplier in the region.
“All [mills] are hunting for volumes,” a second buyer said. “They keep €600 [per tonne ex-works] as an official offer level, and also for pending negotiations with the automotive sector for long term-contacts, but in reality they can step down. The main thing that was achieved with this price increase announcement was a stabilization of [HRC prices].”
Meanwhile, in Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, at €558.75 per tonne on Monday, down by €0.83 per tonne from €559.58 per tonne on Friday.
The Italian index was up by €1.25 per tonne week on week and by €12.50 per tonne month on month.
For HRC with lead times in the first quarter of 2025, offers were heard at €600 per tonne delivered (€590 per tonne ex-works), compared with €570-580 per tonne delivered (€560-570 per tonne ex-works) for December lead times.
No trades have been reported at the new prices, however, Fastmarkets understands.
Buyer estimates of the tradable value were no higher than €550-570 per tonne ex-works.
The HRC import market was also quiet, with offers from Asian mills heard in the range of €555-570 per tonne CFR, and €590-600 per tonne CFR from Turkey.
One source reported an offer from Saudi Arabia at €525 per tonne CFR, for HRC with delivery in February-March. But this could not be confirmed at the time of publication.
“Safeguard quotas and an anti-dumping [AD] probe are keeping import volumes down,” a buyer in Italy said. “Half of all [HRC] imports are under the AD probe. The costs of importing [steel] are high, and lead times are long, which is a big disadvantage, considering the high level of market volatility.”
Published by: Julia Bolotova
