Daily steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices rose slightly in Italy as the absence of cheaper imports supported domestic prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 21. The market was mostly quiet in Northern Europe, as many participants were attending an industry event.
In Italy, sources said imported material was no longer a main factor in domestic coil negotiations.
“It’s clear that it’s impossible to get import material significantly cheaper than domestic,” a producer source said on Wednesday.
The same source said workable prices for local HRC were in the range of €730-750 ($820-842) per tonne ex-works, adding that the upper end of the range was linked to very limited activity, while quoting €730 per tonne ex-works as a more realistic level.
The producer also said that it was harder to get higher prices for orders scheduled for delivery in December because “many customers minimize accepted deliveries due to year end accounting.”
A buyer source said on Wednesday that announced prices in the market were in the range of €740-750 per tonne ex-works, in line with previous indications reported by sources on Tuesday.
However, the same buyer said achievable levels for HRC were within €730-740 per tonne delivered, which nets back to €710-725 per tonne ex-works after deducting delivery costs of €15-20 per tonne.
This price range was discarded from the final index calculation due to a lack of corroboration from other sources and a lack of details about these levels.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €742.5 per tonne on October 21, up by €1.67 per tonne day on day from €740.83 per tonne on October 20.
The index was down by €2.50 per tonne week on week but up by €8.75 per tonne month on month.
While Acciaierie d’Italia and Ilva were challenging a Milan court order requiring the shutdown of the hot-end facilities at the Taranto steelworks, the Italian government issued Decree-Law 185/2026 on Friday October 16, allowing the producer to keep the hot-end area heated to avoid potentially irreversible damage from cooling.
The measure does not itself authorise normal steel production and is intended only to preserve the equipment. It applies until the reasons for the court’s ruling are published, or no later than December 15, 2026.
An official parliamentary dossier dated October 20 said the court had not yet ruled on the appeal. In the meantime, the producer should continue monitoring emissions into the atmosphere, according to the Italian government’s Decree-Law.
Northern Europe
In Northern Europe, market activity was very quiet on Wednesday, with many participants attending the Euroblech fair in Hanover on October 20-23, limiting the availability of pricing data.
One buyer provided an indication of workable levels within the range of €740-750 per tonne ex-works during the day.
A second buyer said trading activity was slow but could not provide workable market levels. No other price points were received during the day, linked to the industry event.
On Tuesday, market participants said producers in the region were under pressure due to high energy costs, citing this as a major problem in the industry. Buyer sources reported indications for HRC within €740-750 per tonne ex-works on the same day.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €746.67 per tonne on October 21, down by €0.83 per tonne day on day from €747.5 per tonne on October 20.
The index was up by €0.67 per tonne week on week and by €1.67 per tonne month on month.
