Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €760-770 ($823-834) per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing downward by €20 per tonne from €760-790 per tonne a week earlier.
The corresponding weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was also €760-770 per tonne on Wednesday, similarly narrowing downward by €20 per tonne week on week from €760-790 per tonne.
“Prices are under pressure, for sure, with much less demand [for beams],” a trader in Northern Europe said. But he added that mills have been resistant to downward movements in the market.
Falling scrap feedstock costs in Turkey’s bellwether market have added impetus to the price slide, market sources said, with HMS-grade scrap import prices falling further on Wednesday following the latest deal.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of its daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was $390.27 per tonne on Wednesday, down by $15.19 per tonne week on week from $405.46 per tonne, and down by $21.06 per tonne month on month.
Sentiment has become more pessimistic as 2024 has progressed, market participants said, due to poor sales in the region.
