Whether further price rises are sustainable given uncertain market conditions remains unclear, sources said.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €642.50 ($689.19) per tonne on November 6, up by €12.08 from €630.42 per tonne on Friday November 3.
The index was up by €28.50 per tonne week on week and by €25.50 per tonne month on month.
Assessments were reported by buyers at €640-650 per tonne.
In the week to November 3, offers consolidated close to €680 per tonne ex-works from integrated mills in the region.
On November 6, workable buyer assessments were reported at €640-650 per tonne EXW.
Meanwhile, a deal was reported by a buyer on Monday at €640 per tonne EXW.
Restocking and production cuts have made buyers more amenable to accepting high prices; however, whether these price rises are workable remains uncertain.
“Consumption remains weak, so it is uncertain whether the price rises are sustainable,” a buyer source said.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets’ calculated its corresponding daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €627.50 per tonne on November 6, up by €12.50 from €615 per tonne on November 3.
The Italian index was up by €25.83 per tonne week on week, and up by €21.53 per tonne month on month.
In the week to Friday, Italian producers reportedly still had some limited tonnages for December delivery, while higher offers were planned for January.
Buyers reported workable price levels in the Italian HRC market for December-delivery were in the region of €620-630 per tonne EXW.
For January, offers were closer to €650 per tonne delivered, which nets back to €635 per tonne ex-works.
There was limited appetite for imports on November 6, sources said.
January-shipment HRC from Asian mills was reported at €610-620 per tonne CFR on November 6, while import offers from Turkey were reported at €630-640 per tonne CFR.
Published by: India-Inés Levy
