Europe's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal has increased its core hot rolled coil (HRC) offer by €50/t due to limited import capacity and low domestic supply.
The company is now offering to buyers in the North West Europe 800 EUR/t for HRC, which is 50 EUR/t more than the previous proposal. Hot-dip galvanized coil is now offered at €920/t, which is also an increase of €50/t. Before the price increase, it was offering HRC at €740/t for southern EU countries and €750/t for northern countries.
The move comes as contract negotiations continue with automakers and the wider supply chain, with In this case, most factories are trying to achieve contract extensions or small increases. Large buyers are still waiting for cuts, and there is competition among factories for big original equipment business - one major manufacturer said it had to cut the price of a six-month contract after another factory cut it.
Supply domestic factories remain limited. British buyers estimate that some EU factories are running about two months behind on deliveries, with one ship due to arrive in November only docking in recent days. ArcelorMittal itself has had production problems, and some of its plants were hit by a strike last month.
Import options are also limited: as of January 8, 1.23 million tons were awaiting clearance under other countries' HRC quotas. compared to the quota of 923,594 tons, which means importers will have to pay a significant duty of about 8.3%.
Some buyers said the new price was too high compared to recent deals, which were mostly remained below €700/t for deliveries in February and March.
A price of €800/t would open the door to other exporters who have not been competitive in recent months, especially Turkey. Assuming an export price of US$700/t FOB and the lowest import duty for Turkish mills, they would be able to sell at just under €700/t EU CFR.
North West HRC Core Index Argus' EU has risen since mid-October amid a tightening of domestic supplies and a replenishment period following months of service center drawdowns. On January 8 it was 692.50 euros/ton, which is 92.25 euros/ton higher than 600.25 euros/ton on October 17. The daily Italian HRC index rose by 101.75 euros/ton from 587.50 euros/ton to 689.25 euros/ton over the same period.
