Summer holiday season is in full swing across Europe, so trading was close to nil in the HRC market, sources said.
“It’s difficult to say what the actual market price [for HRC] is since there’s hardly any activity in the market,” a buyer source said.
Summer holidays in Nordic countries, Northern Germany and the Netherlands were coming to an end, but they have only just started in the south of Germany and Southern Europe.
Buyer sources estimated achievable prices for HRC in Northern Europe at €600-620 ($657-679) per tonne ex-works, but several sources said that it was possible to obtain €590 per tonne ex-works for large volumes.
Buyer sources also reported a large-sized transaction from a Northern European supplier to Southern Europe done at €590 per tonne delivered.
As a result, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €612.50 per tonne on Wednesday, down by €3.75 per tonne from €616.25 per tonne on the previous day.
The index was down by €7.50 per tonne week on week and by €19.63 per tonne month on month.
Sources were uncertain about post-summer price direction amid ongoing weak consumption, but they expected that restocking and the pending EU anti-dumping probe against certain suppliers might help European mills gain some price upticks.
“Restocking must be done to avoid having an empty floor in the warehouse. Then, following the announced [anti-dumping] investigation, more buyers will go for purchasing from domestic mills,” a second buyer source said.
In Southern Europe, meanwhile, Fastmarkets calculated its corresponding daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €612.50 per tonne on Wednesday, down by €2.50 from €615.00 per tonne on the previous day.
The index was down by €7.50 per tonne week on week and by €13.50 per tonne month on month.
“The market is close to dead,” a trading source told Fastmarkets.
Producers in Italy have started summer maintenance work and were expected to come back to the market with fresh offers at the end of August, Fastmarkets heard.
The most recent offers heard at the end of July were at €640-650 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €630-640 per tonne ex-works.
But buyer sources estimated current workable prices at €590-620 per tonne ex-works.
The market for overseas coil was also quiet, with offers broadly flat over the past week, sources said.
October-shipment HRC from Turkish mills was heard offered at €570-590 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty.
A Japanese offer for October-shipment HRC was heard at €580 per tonne CFR to Southern Europe.
Vietnamese HRC was heard offered at €560-570 per tonne CFR; for large volumes, offers were heard at €540 per tonne CFR to some parts of Southern Europe.
And from India, an offer was heard at €575 per tonne CFR.
“Import prices are stable at the moment; [there is] no or hardly any change compared with last week,” the trading source said.
“Due to new safeguard rules [and the] new anti-dumping probe, the big suppliers will not be able to export any more big volumes. New exporters such as Saudi Arabia and Australia won’t have a big impact on the price level in the short run,” they added.