Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was €600.83 ($685.99) per tonne on Tuesday, down from €606.38 per tonne on Monday June 9.
Mills were heard targeting to achieve deals above €600 per tonne ex-works, with some suppliers reporting sales at this price level. This compares with €610 per tonne ex-works heard at the end of last week.
But, considering the high volume of available material for sale and hand-to-mouth buying, some sources expect the market to drop further.
A similar trend was seen in the Italian market.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €585 per tonne on Tuesday, down from €587.92 per tonne on Monday.
“Consumption is very fragmented at the moment; we observe a lack of restocking activity, while buyers’ stocks are higher than usual,” a buy-side source said.
Offers were heard in the range of €580-590 per tonne ex-works, with some “bold” bids heard as low as €550 per tonne ex-works.
Cheap import offers added to the bearish mood in the European domestic market.
Indonesian coils were available at €490-500 per tonne CFR Italy. Turkish material was offered at €520-540 per tonne duty paid, and Indian HRC was heard at €530-540 per tonne CFR.
Published by: Vlada Novokreshchenova
