Prices for domestic steel hot-rolled coil remained largely stable in Northern Europe despite indications of a downward trend, while Italian values decreased based on the latest transactions reported in the market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 26.
In Northern Europe, sources reported a slight downward trend in prices, linked to limited buying interest, but the market was mostly quiet on Friday. Sources said weak demand was driven by the early onset of summer holidays and uncertainty over upcoming EU safeguard measures.
A buyer source reported workable price indication within the range of €680-685 ($773-778) per tonne ex-works on Friday, but had limited visibility on trading.
“We see a small downward trend now. [The] market is slow and people are reluctant to buy for many reasons,” the same source said, adding that the summer holiday period was expected to start earlier for businesses this year, driven by uncertainty over the upcoming EU steel safeguard measure set to take effect on July 1.
“Most people want to see the changes in the market first,” the buyer source said. When asked whether the downward trend in prices was linked to the weak demand, they added that the current situation suggested for some mills, “you either lower the price, or you close the shop.”
Due to a lack of fresh input, price points reported on Thursday were carried over to Friday.
On Thursday, buyer sources reported indications for workable levels within the same range of €680-685 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €682.50 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from Thursday.
The index was down by €3.75 per tonne week on week but up by €6.04 per tonne month on month.
In Italy, indications for workable prices were reported in the range of €660-685 per tonne ex-works from both buyers and sellers.
“I believe [the] market is very soft; we are all waiting for news on the safeguards. Probably €665 [per tonne ex-works] is the most accurate number right now,” a seller source said on Friday.
“These numbers [€660-685 per tonne ex-works] are pretty much there, but there is no activity. The market is waiting for the country quota [allocations] to be published, but as of now, nobody knows if there will be anything in these days,” a second buyer source told Fastmarkets.
A third buyer reported deal levels at €660-670 per tonne ex-works for stock replacement volumes of 500-1,000 tonnes, with delivery in July. They added that customers requested prices at €650 per tonne ex-works, but these bids were rejected by mills as too low.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €668.13 per tonne on Friday, down by €5.20 per tonne from €673.33 per tonne on Thursday.
The index was down by €18.10 per tonne week on week and by €8.33 per tonne month on month.
