Meanwhile, HRC prices in Italy were unchanged day on day.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €675.00 per tonne ($729.46) on Monday, down by €5.38 per tonne from €680.38 per tonne on Friday.
The index was also down by €14.00 per tonne week on week and by €47.13 per tonne month on month.
Integrated mills in Northern Europe continued to offer HRC at €700 per tonne ex-works, but they were ready to grant discounts of €10-20 per tonne on firm bids, sources said.
Trading in the region remained limited, and no major deals were heard in the market.
Fastmarkets’ sources estimated workable prices in the range of €660-680 per tonne ex-works.
Falling prices of iron ore and coking coal, as well as weak demand for HRC, contributed to the downtrend in hot band prices, sources told Fastmarkets.
In addition, Asian suppliers were still heard offering more competitive prices.
“Many buyers are waiting for the period after the Easter holiday, when there will be more clarity on import volumes for the second quarter,” a buyer source told Fastmarkets.
The buyer source said domestic HRC prices had not reached “rock bottom” yet and could drop below €650 per tonne.
No one wanted to sign contracts amid falling prices, the buyer source added, implying that customers would continue to refrain from buying.
“No one is really ready to buy at the moment,” a second buyer source said.
Due to slow demand, only limited restocking could be expected in April, a third buyer source said, adding that some mills were considering output cuts but had not decided on it yet.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €662.50 per tonne on Monday, unchanged from Friday.
The index was down by €7.50 per tonne week on week and by €52.50 per tonne month on month.
HRC offers in Italy for May delivery were heard at €680-690 per tonne delivered, which nets back to around €670-680 per tonne ex-works.
Market participants estimated tradable prices in the range of €665-675 per tonne ex-works.
Deals for small volumes were heard at €655 per tonne ex-works.
“Import offers of HRC from Asia are still available on the market at €560-580 per tonne CFR to Italy, and tradable [prices] could drop by €5-10 per tonne,” the first buyer source told Fastmarkets.
HRC offers from Turkey were heard at €600-620 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty.
Published by: Darina Kahramanova
