Domestic steel hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe and Italy rose on Friday May 29, while trading remained largely muted. But market sources that Fastmarkets spoke to indicated wider ranges for workable prices.
In Northern Europe, a mill source reported an indication of €680-700 ($791-814) per tonne ex-works during the day, while buyers indicated varying workable prices within the range of €670-705 per tonne ex-works.
“There are higher and lower numbers based on the mill and the buyer,” a buyer said on Friday.
Sources mentioned the increase in new offers from leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal that was announced during the week and which reached as high €80 per tonne, but noted that were still waiting to see the market reaction to the higher offer levels.
“Arcelor had showed its intention to get higher numbers,” a mill source said on Friday, adding that they were curious to see how the increase is received by the market.
According to a second buyer, the increase in offers from the leading producer was dependent on the size of the order, with a smaller increase expected for larger volumes, while smaller volumes saw a bigger increase.
The buyer also said upward movements in the market may be seen in September, but not before then.
Sources told Fastmarkets on May 28 they had enough HRC in stock until September, some until October, and there was no need for restock at the moment.
“[The] problem of the pricing is not the price itself, but the extremely low demand,” a third buyer said on Friday, adding that this would change only if European policy changes.
The third buyer said they did not expect better conditions in the market until Russia’s war with Ukraine ended, along with the conflict in the Middle East, which began in late February.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €690.92 per tonne on Friday, up by €10.19 per tonne from €680.73 per tonne on Thursday.
The index was also up by €10.92 per tonne week on week but down by €18.81 per tonne month on month.
In Italy, trading of HRC was also muted on Friday, with mill sources reporting indicative prices of around €670-690 per tonne ex-works and a bid at €660 per tonne ex-works.
Two buyers reported indications for local HRC prices in the range of €660-680 per tonne ex-works, while a third buyer said offers from Italian mills were at €670-690 per tonne ex-works.
According to one of the above buyers, mills were more aggressive pricewise in local sales, but less flexible for exports.
“Everybody waits for quotas information [country-specific allocations] – this can give a real direction for the domestic prices,” the source said on Friday.
New trade defence measures were expected to come into force on July 1, aimed at shielding the EU steel industry from global overproduction and unfair trade practices. The new measures included lower steel import quotas to the EU and higher out-of-quota duties.
“Mills are convinced that [HRC] prices will increase significantly in late third quarter and going forward, boosted by the imports shortage amid new trade regime, but it’s hard to say how much [of an increase] the market can actually absorb,” the a buyer said on Friday.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €671.67 per tonne on Friday, up by €1.25 per tonne from €670.42 per tonne on Thursday.
The index was down by €5.83 per tonne week on week and down by €27.33 per tonne month on month.
The latest import activity in Southern Europe included a large but unconfirmed HRC sale reported on Thursday from Indonesia to Spain around €590-600 per tonne CFR, without Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)-related costs.
A mill source on Friday said offers from Indonesia to Italy at $650-670 per tonne CFR were heard from different European customers, but no fresh deals were confirmed.
