EU HRC market holds steady amid currency-driven shifts, cautious sentiment
European domestic hot-rolled coil prices were broadly stable April 15, as market participants flagged currency fluctuations and geopolitical headwinds as factors reshaping trade flows and buyer behavior.
Domestic tradable values were reported at around Eur650/mt ex-works Ruhr and Eur620–630/mt ex-works Italy. While mill offer levels remain steady, traders noted ongoing caution in spot bookings.
“Compared to last week, there’s slightly more interest, but it’s not a demand boom — just the seasonal spring uptick,” a distributor said. “Real consumption hasn’t changed much.”
Import activity remained limited, as exchange rate movements prompted adjustments. Offers from India were heard at Eur570/mt CIF Antwerp, while Indonesian HRC was cited at Eur540–550/mt CIF Italy. “With the US dollar weakening against the euro, the same US dollar price now converts to a lower euro value, giving the illusion of a price drop,” a source explained.
Although some mills have floated the idea of further price hikes, participants were skeptical.
“Imports aren’t particularly attractive right now, and mills might try to capitalize on that — but weak real demand will probably hold prices back,” the source also said.
Platts assessed HRC in Northwest Europe at Eur650/mt EXW Ruhr April 15, and in Southern Europe at Eur630/mt EXW Italy, both stable on the day.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Northern Europe at Eur545/mt CIF Antwerp, stable on the day, and in Southern Europe at Eur535/mt CIF Italy, down Eur5 on the day.
European HRC prices inch upward on limited imports, restocking
Most European buyers currently relied mainly on domestic producers and avoided buying imported HRC due to the trade risks, related to the latest steel safeguard review of the European Commission, Fastmarkets understands.
According to Fastmarkets’ sources, this was the main factor that fueled the observed price increase. Despite some small fluctuations, HRC prices in Europe have been increasing gradually since the beginning of January.
Besides, Fastmarkets’ sources expected that there would be more clarity on the new safeguard measures by the end of the week.
This also fostered expectations among local buyers that the domestic prices of HRC would only increase in the short run, stimulating them to make some restocking, sources told Fastmarkets.
Mills in Northern Europe were heard offering HRC with delivery in the second quarter of 2025 at €640 ($669) per tonne ex-works.
One integrated steel mill continued offering such material at €660 per tonne ex-works.
“I think that by the end of the week, offers of other producers in the region will also reach the €660-per-tonne level,” an industry source told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets’ sources estimated the workable market level for HRC in the region at €610-620 per tonne ex-works.
As a result, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €618.75 per tonne on Monday, up by €0.62 per tonne from €618.13 per tonne on Friday February 21.
The Northern European index was up by €13.75 per tonne week on week and by €32.50 per tonne month on month.
Meanwhile, in Southern Europe, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €610.00 per tonne on Monday, up by €2.92 per tonne from €607.08 per tonne on Friday.
The index was up by €15.00 per tonne week on week and by €30.00 per tonne month on month.
Italian producers were offering April-delivery HRC at €620-640 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €610-630 per tonne ex-works.
Most Fastmarkets’ sources estimated the workable market level for HRC in Italy at €610 per tonne ex-works.
The European market for imported HRC was quiet on Monday.
Asian suppliers were heard offering May-shipment HRC to Italy and Spain at €560-580 per tonne CFR.
EU HRC prices sideways, price outlooks remain split
European hot rolled coil prices were flat Jan. 31, with market participants remaining mixed about the longevity of increased price levels as demand sentiment remained largely mixed.
Market sources reported tradable ranges of Eur580-600/mt ex-works Ruhr, citing the generally sideways conditions for price levels in North Europe, but reiterated how a large section of the market was growing more bullish against the backdrop of higher mill offers.
“The market is going up, driven by restocking and even mills that sell to automotive are seeing an increase in volumes,” said one German buyer. “But it is still not clear what the real consumption is, and some construction applications may only begin to pick up in Q2 or after the summer.”
Other sources argued against the bullish trends in the market, citing a continuation of high stock levels and uncertainty in the end-consumer market. “Service centers and cold rollers are sitting on huge stocks, so I’m not sure mills can get prices above Eur650/mt,” a second buyer said.
“We don’t see improvements to price levels at the moment, inventory levels are still high and there are still large volumes flowing into Antwerp,” a service-center source said. “Looking at real demand, I just don’t see an increase or prices going up, just sentiment.”
The same source reported a normalized HRC import price level of Eur575/mt CIF Antwerp, saying that compared to current EU-mill offers, prices remained competitive. Nonetheless, a large number of market participants have continued to stress a preference for domestic material, due to the recent trend of higher import offers, in part worsened by a volatile foreign exchange rate between the euro and the US dollar.
Conversations around European mill order books remained largely positive, as sources reported that several were at volume capacity until after March, and were not in a hurry to sell, despite the continued reports of higher stock levels further down the value chain.
A source from an EU mill argued that domestic production remained preferable to the import market. “Antidumping investigations are helping keep buyers on domestic,” the source said. “Imports offers are not competitive, and you can get better quality material, and clearer lead times if you buy domestically.”
“The problem at the moment is uncertainty across the market, so while prices are inching up and order intake is healthy, there is still too much uncertainty from politics.”
A second mill source said demand was stagnating, but “coil producers are absolutely in control, as Q1 is pretty much covered, so no producer is under pressure to sell cheap.”
Platts assessed the North European domestic HRC price at Eur590/mt ex-works Ruhr, and the Southern European domestic HRC price at Eur585/mt ex-works Italy, both stable on the day.
Platts assessed imported HRC prices in Northwest Europe and Southern Europe, at Eur545/mt CIF Antwerp and Eur545/mt CIF Italy, respectively, with both also remaining flat on the day.
European buyers still reluctant to accept higher HRC offers
In general, offers from other integrated mills in the region were heard in the range of €620-630 ($642-652) per tonne ex-works or delivered. Most producers heard to be offering April lead times already, however, several buyer sources said that some producers still could do March deliveries.
Market participants pointed out that domestic HRC prices have recovered from the lower levels observed in the fourth quarter of 2024, but mills target offers were “unrealistic” considering subdued demand.
Most sources estimated the tradable market level to be at €570-590 per tonne ex-works on Tuesday.
“Demand is still not strong enough to back up €600 + [HRC] prices. The mills have to reduce output to make [a price increase] work,” a buyer source told Fastmarkets.
Market sources told Fastmarkets that the price rise mills were pushing for was not demand-driven, adding that mills were hoping that the EU’s trade policies will support domestic markets.
“We have safeguards in review right now, we have [an] anti-dumping probe, we have Trump in the US [presidential] office and [we are] bracing for even more protectionism globally. Importing steel gets increasingly inconvenient – you don’t know what the cost will be,” a second buyer said.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €577.50 per tonne on Tuesday, up by €2.50 per tonne from €575.00 per tonne on Monday.
The index was up by €4.17 per tonne week on week and by €12.50 per tonne month on month.
At the same time, Fastmarkets calculated its corresponding daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €573.75 per tonne on Tuesday, up by €3.75 per tonne from €570.00 per tonne on Monday.
The index was up by €3.75 per tonne week on week and by €13.75 per tonne month on month.
Offers in Italy were heard at €610-620 per tonne delivered, which nets back to around €600-610 per tonne ex-works.
But these offers have not been accepted by buyers so far.
Market participants estimated the tradable market levels for HRC in Italy in the range of €570-580 per tonne ex-works.
Import offers of HRC to both Northern Europe and Italy remained limited on Tuesday. According to sources, this was due to the pending safeguard measures review.
From Turkey, one supplier was heard offering €580-590 per tonne CFR. But for tonnages of 10,000 tonnes and higher, it was possible to get €560-570 per tonne CFR, several sources said.
From Asia, offers were heard at €560-570 per tonne CFR for HRC arriving in April.
European HRC prices largely flat; market remains quiet
The market slowly restarted after the Christmas and New Year holiday lull, but trading remained almost non-existent.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €566.25 per tonne on Wednesday, up by €0.42 per tonne from €565.83 ($587.92) per tonne the previous day.
The index was up by €1.25 per tonne week on week and by €2.08 per tonne month on month.
Not many producers have followed the move of ArcelorMittal, who announced an increase in its HRC offers by €30 per tonne across Europe just before the holidays, Fastmarkets understands.
Offer prices from ArcelorMittal with lead times in February-March were heard at €630 per tonne ex-works or delivered in Northern Europe.
“We have offers from the [Northern European] mills at €580 per tonne ex-woks. And even at these levels, the traded volumes are low. Demand remains very dull,” a buyer source based in Northern Europe told Fastmarkets.
The source added that mills could easily accept €570 per tonne ex-works for larger volumes.
A second buyer source also cited an offer from a producer based in the Benelux region at €580 per tonne ex-works.
“If you are insistent, you can get a discount of €20 per tonne ex-works,” the second buyer source said.
According to this source, the workable level for HRC in Northern Europe could be even lower, at €540-560 per tonne ex-works.
No major deals were heard in the market.
In terms of imports, India was heard offering HRC with March shipment at €540-550 per tonne CFR Antwerp.
And Turkish HRC was on offer at €560 per tonne CFR Antwerp.
These offers were considered not workable, however, because of long delivery times and the small difference with the domestic prices.
“If the European prices do not move up, it will be difficult to import any volumes,” the first buyer told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets calculated its corresponding daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €562.50 per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from Tuesday.
The index was stable week on week, but up by €2.08 per tonne month on month.
The HRC market in Italy was also very quiet after the holidays.
“I have not heard any fresh offers from the Italian suppliers so far. We should probably wait until next week to spot some activity,” an Italy-based buyer source told Fastmarkets.
Tradable values were estimated by buyers at €560-570 per tonne ex-works, depending on the supplier.
The market for imported coil was muted.
Import offers of HRC to Italy similar to those reported for the Northern European market were heard.
Buyers estimated tradeable values for imports at €520-530 per tonne CFR, but no such offers were available in the market.
European HRC prices hold at pre-holidays levels; mills report improved order books
Tradeable values were reported by buyers and sellers at €560-590 ($580-611) per tonne ex-works on Tuesday, depending on a supplier and lead times.
“There are no major changes in the market since the end of last year,” a buyer in Germany said.
Mill sources said that a pick-up in trading before the holiday closures has allowed them to improve their order books.
“A lot of customers booked [HRC] in December to secure lower prices,” a second buyer in Germany said.
“The market at least is still pretty dormant,” a mills source in Northern Europe said. “But booking levels are ok here; almost sold out for the first quarter[-delivery] coil,” the second buyer added.
But higher offers of €610-630 per tonne ex-works were not yet sealed in deals and most buyer sources deemed such levels unworkable.
“Too early to say if higher offers will be accepted, but so far market fundamentals are not favorable,” a steel service center source in Northern Europe said.
As a result, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €565.83 per tonne on Tuesday, unchanged day on day.
The index was also by €0.83 per tonne week on week and by €1.66 per tonne month on month.
Fastmarkets calculated its corresponding daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €562.50 per tonne on Tuesday, unchanged compared with the previous calculation on Monday.
The index was also stable week on week, but up by €2.08 per tonne month on month.
The Italian market was also quiet on Tuesday, with no major changes reported.
“The market has just restarted after holidays; we expect more clarity [on prices] in the next days,” a third buyer source said.
Tradable values were estimated by buyers at €560-570 per tonne ex-works, depending on the supplier.
The market for imported coil was also quiet.
Two sources reported offers from India for March-shipment HRC at €540-550 per tonne CFR.
One buyer reported an offer from Turkey at €560 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty.
Buyers estimated tradeable values for imports at €520-530 per tonne CFR. No such offers, however, were reported on Tuesday.
European HRC prices steady amid sluggish trading
There was a slight pick-up in trading, but it was related to the expected longer lead times from some suppliers, Fastmarkets understands.
According to industry sources, some steelmakers were planning to extend their winter holiday closures, resulting in longer lead times for HRC.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €561.88 ($590) per tonne on Monday, down by €0.62 per tonne from €562.50 per tonne on Friday December 13.
The index was down by €1.60 per tonne week on week and by €0.62 per tonne month on month.
Mills in Northern Europe continued aiming at €600 per tonne ex-works for HRC with delivery in the first quarter of 2025, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
However, material was also offered at €570-590 per tonne ex-works, Fastmarkets understands.
Some deals for small volumes were heard at €560 per tonne ex-works.
According to industry sources, the workable market level for HRC in Northern Europe was at €550-560 per tonne ex-works.
In Southern Europe, meanwhile, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic exw Italy at €561.25 per tonne on Monday, down by €0.25 per tonne from €561.50 per tonne on Friday.
The Italian index was up by €0.83 per tonne week on week and by €5.25 per tonne month on month.
According to industry sources, local suppliers were heard offering HRC with delivery in the first quarter of 2025 at €580-620 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €570-610 per tonne ex-works.
“The actual levels [in deals] are still far below [the targeted price by mills of] €600 per tonne ex-works,” a buyer source based in Italy told Fastmarkets.
According to the source, suppliers in Italy would probably try another price increase after the Christmas holidays, targeting levels higher than €600 per tonne ex-works.
Meanwhile, a medium tonnage deal of HRC from Italy to Germany was heard at €580-590 per tonne delivered, with the freight cost between the two countries estimated at around €50 per tonne.
Buyers’ estimations for the workable market level were at €550-570 per tonne ex-works.
In terms of imports, Turkey was heard offering HRC to Italy at $590 per tonne CFR, including the anti-dumping duty.
Asia-origin coil was on offer to Italy at €590 per tonne CFR, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
Some volumes of HRC from Ukraine were booked in Italy at €530 per tonne CFR, Fastmarkets understands.
Spot market for HRC in Europe remains quiet; trend for Q1 unclear
European steel hot-rolled coil prices were broadly steady on Tuesday December 3, with the market awaiting the outcome of long-term contract negotiations between mills and end users, sources told Fastmarkets.
In Northern Europe, official offers for January-February delivery HRC were still being reported at €600-620 ($630-651) per tonne ex-works, but no transactions have been reported at such prices so far.
Market participants said local suppliers were accepting between €560 and €580 per tonne ex-works on firm bids.
One buyer estimated the workable price even lower, at €540-550 per tonne ex-works, but this was not widely supported by others.
One re-roller in the region was hoping to achieve €590 per tonne ex-works for first-quarter-delivery HRC, Fastmarkets understands, but sales were heard at no higher than €550-560 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at €561.25 ($589.75) per tonne on Tuesday, up by €1.25 per tonne from €560.00 per tonne on Monday.
The index was down by €2.92 per tonne week on week, but was up by €3.75 per tonne month on month.
Slow demand and oversupply were the main obstacles to achieving higher prices, sources said.
Downstream competition between steel service centers (SSCs) and distributors has been fierce, sources said.
“High inventories and cashflow needs result in SSCs fighting for every tonne,” a trader source in Germany said.
Other market participants said that some integrated mills were selling material at lower rates through their SSCs.
“The mills are hungry for volumes, but they don’t want to lower their official offer prices due to pending negotiations with automotive [original equipment manufacturers],” a second buyer said.
In the weeks ahead, the outcome of long-term contract negotiations between automotive OEMs and steelmakers should be clearer, which will then set the tone for spot sales, sources told Fastmarkets.
“Not only the price [in long-term contracts] but also the volumes the automotive sector [takes will be] important to understanding how the spot market will evolve,” a distributor in the region said.
Buyers were hoping to achieve a discount of around €100 per tonne for first-half and full-year 2025 contracts, while mills were hoping for a more minor reduction of some €50 per tonne, or even a price rollover in some cases, sources said.
“Negotiations [with the automotive industry] are continuing, and are expected to close in about 15 days,” a mill source told Fastmarkets on December 3.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy at €560.00 per tonne on Tuesday, unchanged day on day.
The Italian index was up by €1.50 per tonne week on week and by €2.50 per tonne month on month.
The market in Italy was also mostly quiet, however, with prices broadly flat amid subdued trading.
One integrated mill in Italy was hoping to achieve €600 per tonne delivered (€590 per tonne ex-works) for first-quarter-delivery HRC, with bids for such material coming in at €570-580 per tonne delivered (€560-570 per tonne ex-works).
“[The mill] is trying to get €600 [per tonne delivered], but there has been a weak response so far,” a buyer in Italy said.
“Nothing has been closed at €600 [per tonne delivered],” a second buyer said.
Another supplier was heard accepting around €550 per tonne ex-works for material with lead times of about 5-6 weeks.
The import market in Italy, meanwhile, has been mostly quiet recently due to trade defense measures, as well as uncompetitive prices, sources said.
Offers of HRC for February shipment from Taiwan and South Korea to Italy were heard at €580 per tonne CFR, down from €600 per tonne CFR in late November, but failed to spark interest among European buyers.
“Shipment in February means arrival in April, which makes no sense,” a third buyer source said, “[but] the domestic sector can still deliver in January.”
Sources reported the sale of some Turkish HRC to Italy at €560 per tonne CFR, but no further details were available – although one source said the deal had been done through a trader.
Japanese suppliers were not offering HRC to Europe due to a looming anti-dumping probe, but limited tonnages of HRC from Indonesia were on offer to Italy at €550-555 per tonne CFR.
Published by: Julia Bolotova
Darina Kahramanova in Sofia contributed to this report.
EU HRC prices stay largely unchanged on lack of restocking
Domestic European hot-rolled coil prices held largely unchanged Nov. 28, as market activity slowed due to low restocking requirements from consumers.
“The market is very slow and remains largely unchanged from last week as there is no significant restocking activity,” said a Germany-based mill source. “Customers are accepting small price increases.”
“Both the steel and manufacturing industries in Europe are facing increasing pressures, which require the support of the European Commission to overcome,” said the source, adding that European steel mills need more time and support from the government at a time where “the competitiveness of Europe is at stake.”
A slight improvement in automotive demand was highlighted as a key reason the spread between HRC and HDG has gradually widened again.
“Automotive demand is improving slightly,” the source said.
Weak demand and poor market sentiment since the announcement by a large European car manufacturer of potential factory closures and layoffs contributed to a narrowing in the spread between HRC and HDG prices over the past few weeks.
Platts assessed Northwest European HRC at Eur550/mt ex-works Ruhr on Nov. 28, stable on the day.
Offers were reported at Eur560-610/mt ex-works Ruhr.
“The situation in the European steel industry is critical but improving slightly every day,” said an Italy-based service center source. “Italian service centers need to maintain good relationships with European suppliers as the import market continues to weaken .. Importers are scouting out new import influxes from Indonesia and Turkey.”
Platts assessed domestic HRC in Southern Europe at Eur550/mt EXW Italy, stable on the day.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Northwest Europe at Eur530/mt CIF Antwerp, stable on the day.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Southern Europe at Eur525/mt CIF Italy, stable on the day.
UK HRC price increases; 2025 outlooks contingent on demand
‘We are at the bottom of the market’: service center source
UK hot-rolled coil prices rose on Nov. 28, as market participants cited ongoing negativity impacting the sector and limited buying interest.
Although spot buying interest remained minimal on the week amid stable offers, sources referred to higher tradables and shared relatively bullish outlooks for 2025, with many of them hopeful for price increases.
“It’s not all negative, prices have come up from the EU and from imports, even if demand hasn’t increased,” one seller said. “A lot of service centers have held back booking material and, on their sales side, they aren’t putting pressure on customers, so they are barely covering costs before thinking of replacement costs.”
Market participants also referred to the ongoing negativity surrounding EU mills and the potential for further cutbacks in both capacity and workforce, following announcements from steel makers ArcelorMittal and Thyssenkrupp.
“Nobody is making a profit at any level of the market, there is something fundamentally wrong, but I think we are at the bottom and if we see cutbacks then there will be conditions for EU mills to raise the price,” a distributor source said.
A service center source also suggested HRC prices had reached the floor. “Traders are struggling to get shippable quantities into the UK, and EU mills aren’t making money, so we’re seeing closures and it’s inevitable we will get more closures and cuts quite soon,” he said.
“We are at the bottom of the market, so we need more cutbacks, and it could lead to price hikes; we are already hearing of higher rates into March from some EU mills, and if imports are out of the question for Q1, EU mills will dominate the market, which could be bullish but only if demand improves,” the same source said.
Platts assessed UK HRC at GBP530/mt basis DDP West Midlands, up GBP5 on the week.