Northern European HRC prices stable despite competitive offers from Central Europe

Northern European hot-rolled coil prices were stable on July 18 despite competitive offers from Central Europe, sources told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Platts assessed HRC in Northern Europe at Eur855/mt ex-works Ruhr July 18, stable day on day, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data.

A mill source reported tradable value at Eur860/mt ex-works Northern Europe. The source confirmed offers at Eur900/mt ex-works, seeing near-term tradable value as increasing to Eur900/mt ex-works Northern Europe in the near- to mid-term.

Distributors estimated tradable values and reported offers at Eur840-850/mt ex-works Ruhr.

A Northern European re-roller was reported to offer HRC at Eur800/mt ex-works.

A Northern European buyer reported bids at Eur800/mt ex-works Ruhr.

And offers from Central Europe have been reported at about Eur800/mt ex-works. The offers, however, did not have a negative impact on Northern European market due to lower volumes available from the region, sources said.

Demand, in the meantime, has picked up slightly, but still remains below average due to sufficient stocks of distributors.

“Demand recovery is there, but it is almost negligible,” a trader said.

The buyers, however, would have to restock soon as the material availability is likely to be lower due to equipment stoppages at some mills and longer summer maintenance of the majority of steelmakers.

In addition, interest in import offers have been limited due to long lead times and as the weak euro compared to the US dollar makes import more expensive.

HRC in Southern Europe was assessed at Eur780/mt ex-works Italy July 18, down Eur5/mt day on day.

Sources estimated tradable value at Eur760-770/mt ex-works Italy, but latest transactions have been confirmed at Eur800/mt ex-works.

— Maria Tanatar, Benjamin Steven