Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at €637.50 ($696.60) per tonne on Wednesday, down by just €0.50 per tonne from €638.00 per tonne on Tuesday.
The Northern European index was up by €1.41 per tonne week on week and by €28.75 per tonne month on month.
A leading European integrated mill was heard considering whether to push its offers for June-delivery HRC to €670-680 per tonne ex-works or delivered, depending on destination.
A second HRC producer in Northern Europe increased its offer prices for June-delivery HRC to €665 per tonne ex-works from €650 per tonne ex-works for May lead times, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
Some transactions for HRC were reported at €630-640 per tonne ex-works.
Most of Fastmarkets’ sources estimated the workable market price for HRC in Northern Europe to be €630-650 per tonne ex-works, although one buyer saw the tradeable price lower, at €610-620 per tonne ex-works.
According to a trader source, the latest announcements of the European Commission about steel safeguard measures have provided some clarity, and numbers of inquiries for purchasing domestic HRC have increased.
Last week, the European Commission notified the World Trade Organization of adjustments to the region’s steel safeguard measures, affecting annual liberalization, introducing caps and changing residual tariff rate quota (TRQ) access for a number of steel products, including HRC.
The proposed amendments were expected to enter into force on April 1.
In addition, the European Commission announced provisional anti-dumping (AD) duties on HRC imports originating from Egypt, Vietnam and Japan, with the new measures set to be imposed from April 7.
The trader source added that some big steel service centers in Germany did some restocking in the past few days.
But a distributor source based in Germany told Fastmarkets that, although the mills were testing the market with higher offers, prices in transactions were largely unchanged.
In Southern Europe, meanwhile, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, was calculated at €622.50 per tonne on Wednesday, also down by just €0.50 per tonne from €623.00 per tonne on Tuesday.
The index was up by €2.17 per tonne week on week and up by €22.50 per tonne month on month.
Local suppliers were heard offering HRC in Italy at €640 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €630 per tonne ex-works.
But the Italian market was more cautious, with buyers avoiding large-scale purchases in an uncertain market, Fastmarkets understands.
Buyers’ estimates of the workable market price were heard at €610-620 per tonne ex-works.
In imports, India was heard offering HRC to Italy at €585-590 per tonne ex-works, with Italian buyers estimating such prices to be tradeable.
Turkey offered HRC to Italy at €590 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
And Indonesia was heard offering HRC to Italy at €550-565 per tonne CFR.
But no major transactions for imported HRC were heard in the market.
