The European hot rolled coil (HRC) market has remained relatively calm this week, with local mills struggling to secure higher prices in new transactions, and so most local HRC offers have moved sideways or showed only a slight upward bias in workable prices over the past week. Besides, most market insiders still believe that significantly higher HRC prices are unlikely to be achieved given the weak automotive demand and the intense competition among steel service centers, which are contending with high inventories and ongoing cash flow pressures.
More specifically, official offers from Italian mills have been voiced at around €590/mt ex-works for delivery in January, while tradable prices for December delivery HRC have been voiced at €560-570/mt ex-works, versus €550-555/mt ex-works levels, though some market insiders still believe it is possible to achieve below €560/mt ex-works.”
Offers for local HRC in northern Europe have been voiced from mills at €600-620/mt ex-works for January delivery, the same as last week, though workable prices have been heard at €560-580/mt ex-works, against €550-570/mt ex-works last week. According to sources, steel demand continues to show little improvement and mills have not yet announced any production cuts. As a result, despite some mills signaling price hikes for the first quarter of 2025, a strong price recovery for HRC appears improbable in the near future.
“There has been limited restocking activity, and demand from the automotive sector has remained subdued, contributing to a stable pricing environment in the European flat steel market,” a market insider told SteelOrbis, adding, “This stability is underpinned by a general lack of momentum in demand.”
In the import segment, trade has remained slow with many foreign suppliers refraining from giving any offers to Europe this week. Indicative prices for ex-Asia HRC have settled at €560-590/mt CFR, up by €10/mt week on week. Offers from Indian suppliers have been reported at the low end of the range - at €560/mt CFR, mainly the same as last week. Besides, according to market insiders, offers from one of the Indonesian HRC mills have been heard at €560/mt CFR, though some have heard offers at €540/mt CFR as well. Offers from suppliers from Taiwan and South Korea have been heard at around €590/mt CFR, up by €5-10/mt week on week.
Offers for ex-Turkey HRC have been voiced at around €590-620/mt CFR southern Europe, including duty, versus €580-620/mt CFR last week, though no interest has been seen from EU customers. “For several weeks now they [Turkish suppliers] have been more expensive than local EU mills. They need to decrease their offers to be able to sell in the EU,” a Spain-based trader told SteelOrbis.