In Northern Europe, a deal for small tonnages was reported at €670 per tonne ex-works, while indications for workable prices reached €675-710 per tonne ex-works, sources said.
“People don’t see an increase in demand, and the stocks are quite full; there is still a lot of material in the ports,” a buyer source said on Wednesday, adding that mills had good order books. The source noted that customers expected lower spot prices for July-August delivery.
“If the new safeguards are not as strict as expected, prices might come under pressure, also due to lower prices for iron ore and energy,” the same source said, but did not expect a significant decrease in the next two months.
On June 24, Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 regarding the new steel trade safeguard measures was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, but no information on country-specific import quotas had been revealed by the time of publication.
One source told Fastmarkets on Wednesday that quotas were expected to be announced on June 29-30, just ahead of the new measures coming into effect on July 1, but this was yet to be confirmed.
Uncertainty over upcoming country-specific quota allocations kept the market in a wait-and-see mode throughout June.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at €684.17 ($779.94) per tonne on June 24, down by €2.08 per tonne from €686.25 per tonne on June 23.
The index was down by €3.83 per tonne week on week but up by €4.17 per tonne month on month.
In Italy, limited transactions for HRC were reported at €670-700 per tonne delivered (€655-685 per tonne ex-works), mainly to fill small gaps, a buyer source said on Wednesday.
A second buyer reported an indication for workable prices at €700 per tonne delivered (€685 per tonne ex-works). One seller said offers for September were at €685-690 per tonne ex-works, but these were given zero tonnage due to longer delivery times exceeding Fastmarkets’ six-week methodology window.
“Demand is really weak in the downstream market,” the first buyer said, adding that stocks were sufficient, but market participants might need to wait longer in July for confirmation of country-specific import allocations, as “negotiations were still taking place in the European Commission to find the proper quotas.”
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, was calculated at €677.50 per tonne on Wednesday, up by €3.75 per tonne from €673.75 per tonne on Tuesday.
The index was down by €6.25 per tonne week on week and month on month.
Author: Ivelina Nikolova
