Besides, buyers said, they wanted to see how many tonnes of imported coil would be customs-cleared on April 1 under the EU’s safeguard quotas, and what duty rates would be applied.
“We are buying as little [HRC] as we can and waiting for more clarity on import volumes for the second quarter,” a buyer in Germany said.
Market sources expected import quotas for India, South Korea and the “other countries” category – which includes Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and Egypt – to be exceeded for the second quarter, Fastmarkets heard.
In any case, end-user demand for HRC has remained sluggish, with buyers preferring to keep their stocks low.
“Real demand is very weak,” a second trader said, “because most buyers have sufficient stocks, [and are] dealing with lower demand and strong competition between steel service centers, stockists and traders downstream. [They are also] expecting even lower [HRC] prices because of declining costs for raw materials.”
Offer prices in Northern Europe were reported at €700-710 ($761-772) per tonne ex-works, although market sources said that €680-690 per tonne ex-works would be “negotiable” on a firm bid.
Buyers’ estimates of achievable price for HRC were heard at €670-680 per tonne ex-works.
“Mills are hungry for orders, but at the same time [they are] not prepared to give in to the extremely low prices for now,” a trader in the Benelux area said.
In the Benelux countries, an offer from a re-roller was heard at €660 per tonne delivered.
Producers in the region could mainly offer May lead times.
As a result, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at €680.63 ($739.93) per tonne on Thursday, down by €2.70 per tonne day on day from €683.33 per tonne.
The index was down by €14.70 per tonne week on week and by €42.50 per tonne month on month.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its corresponding steel HRC index, domestic, exw Italy at €663.50 per tonne on Thursday, down by €1.50 per tonne day on day from €665.00 per tonne.
The index was down by €10.25 per tonne week on week and by €58.44 per tonne month on month.
HRC offers in Italy were mainly heard at €680-690 per tonne delivered, equivalent to €670-680 per tonne ex-works, although some industry sources said that €670 per tonne delivered (€660 per tonne ex-works) was achievable on larger volumes.
Lead times were around six weeks from a local supplier, market sources said.
In the secondary market, 4mm HR sheet was heard traded at prices no higher than €750-770 per tonne CPT, with some steel service centers reported to be offering as low as €740 per tonne CPT. Downstream sales were reported to be very slow.
Offers from Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan were generally around €580-600 per tonne CFR, but buying interest has remained low, Fastmarkets understands.
Most Asian suppliers were heard offering HRC for shipment in late May, which would mean June-July arrival.
An offer from Saudi Arabia was reported at €570 per tonne CFR for May shipment.
From Turkey, an offer of June-arrival coil was heard at €620 per tonne CFR, including duties.
