European steel hot-rolled coil prices were largely flat in the spot market, with trading slowing down even more ahead of the year-end break, and with some long-term contracts for the first half of 2026 finalized at increased prices, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday December 18.
In Germany and the Benelux area, offers of HRC with February and March lead times were reported at €630-670 ($740-787) per tonne ex-works. Some suppliers claimed to have been “largely sold out for February already,” Fastmarkets heard.
Italy-origin HRC was offered to Germany at €650 per tonne delivered.
Buyers’ estimates of achievable prices were around €620-630 per tonne ex-works, but transactions were rare.
“The market is winding-down for the Christmas break, buyers have booked what they needed, mills have good order books – the market will restart in January,” a buyer in Germany said.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was €623.75 per tonne on Thursday, up by €0.42 per tonne from €623.33 per tonne on Wednesday.
The index was up by €2.58 per tonne week on week and by €10.00 per tonne month on month.
Some long-term HRC contracts for the first half of 2026 with automotive OEMs were finalized, with some €50 per tonne increases to “slightly above €700 per tonne,” Fastmarkets heard.
“This is a positive signal, considering how much resistance to price increases end-users showed in the beginning of the negotiation process,” a mill source said.
Producers had quite bullish expectations for the first quarter, considering good order books and expecting full implementation of the Carbon Broder Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to further limit import options and therefore support domestic prices rebound.
On December 17, the European Commission published a package of CBAM documents on the web portal of its Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD).
The updated CBAM annexes were considered technically final but remained subject to formal adoption and publication in the EU Official Journal. They were expected to be published before December 25, sources familiar with the matter said.
Lower benchmarks and higher default emissions values for a number of origins were expected to push import prices sharply upward.
“CBAM compliance costs are unbearable for smaller market participants, so we already see buyers prioritizing domestic steel bookings,” a steel-service centre in Germany said.
Meanwhile, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, was calculated at €613.75 per tonne on Thursday, up by €1.25 per tonne from €612.50 per tonne on Wednesday.
The index was up by €1.25 per tonne week on week and by €15.00 per tonne month on month.
The Italian market was very quiet, with trading close to nil, sector sources said.
Offers of February-delivery HRC were heard at €610-640 per tonne ex-works, depending on supplier.
Buyers estimated achievable prices at €610-620 per tonne ex-works on Thursday.
Interest in new import bookings remained weak, market participants said, amid the EU’s upcoming CBAM requirements, the transition to a new trade framework, and uncertainty over remaining safeguard quotas.
Because of the CBAM costs uncertainty, import purchases on a CFR basis were no longer viable for many buyers, leaving DDP-based bookings – with CBAM costs at least partially incorporated – as the only practical option, typically offered by large trading houses. Smaller buyers have largely withdrawn from the market due to the complexity of managing CBAM-related costs.
Algerian coil was offered in Italy at €610 per tonne DDP, while Turkish HRC offers were reported at €620 per tonne DDP.
