Market participants had different expectations regarding the development of the price trend in the European hot-rolled steel market, while trading was largely quiet on Monday, July 7.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel index HRC, domestic, pickup of Northern Europe, Euro 551.25 ($644.63) per ton on July 7, which is €1.25 per ton from €550,00 € per ton on July 4.
Sources from Austria and Germany reported estimates of the feasible price for a narrowed range of €540-550 per ton of Ex-work compared to a wider range of €530-560 per ton of Ex-work at the end of last week, while purchasing activity was said to be off for seasonal reasons.
A source from Benelux, meanwhile, reported reaching a price of €570 per tonne on a free-of-charge basis in some transactions and positive expectations for the second half of 2025.
But trading only in limited volumes at this price is not a sign of a trend reversal.
Another source in the market is that the price decline is expected to continue, although it should slow down with the lower market nearby.
And a third source said he expected prices to fall further, or to stabilize them at best.
At the same time, Italian sources estimate market prices for HRC in the range of €520-530 per ton of Ex-work, compared with €520-540 per ton on ex-factory terms last Friday.
Demand was described as "very weak" with some expectations for a price of 500 euros per ton of Ex-work to be operational by the end of July.
Import prices continued to put additional pressure on domestic producers, with a large cargo of Indonesian coils reported to be selling at a price of €450 per ton CFR.
As a result, Fastmarkets daily hot-rolled steel coil index, domestic, on EXW terms in Italy, was calculated at €526.67 per tonne on Monday, up from €530.00 per tonne on Friday.
Vlada Novokreshchenova
Fastmarkets.com
