European hot-rolled coil prices held steady in a calm market on Tuesday, July 15, with continued lack of clarity about the price direction after the summer slump, sources told Fastmarkets.
Some buyers made inquiries about October-November shipments and said they expect to see a rebound in prices after the summer shutdowns.
"Prices have reached a ‘bottom'[and]the market is likely to stabilize at current levels before summer disruptions in August," the German buyer said,
"European factories will try to increase[HRC]prices after the summer break, counting, because the[carbon border adjustment mechanism](CBAM) will interrupt imports in the first quarter of 2026," buyer added.
Other buyers, however, maintained a "wait-and-see" attitude and stated that they expect the downtrend to continue, given the insufficient consumption and influx of cheap imports in recent months.
In Northern Europe, Fastmarkets reportedly offers euros 560-570 per ton delivered (€550-560 per ton Ex-work) in Germany and for €560-570 per ton Ex-work in the Benelux countries.
The cost estimate of the buyer of the sold category remained at the level of €530-560 per ton of Ex-work, depending on the tonnage.
Supplier sources estimate achievable prices for large tonnages[2,000 tons and more]at 540-550 per ton on a factory-free basis and at 560-580 per ton on a factory-free basis for small lots.
Some suppliers, however, claimed that the level of €540-550 per ton of Ex-work were "special offers" and therefore "outsiders" rather than widely available on the market.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily domestic steel HRC index, Northern European pickup of Euro 547.50 per tonne on Tuesday, rose by just €1.25 per tonne from €546.25 per tonne seven days ago.
The Nordic index was also up by €2.50 per tonne week-on-week, but decreased by €46.50 per tonne compared to the previous month.
No significant progress has been made in terms of long-term contract negotiations with end-users for the second half of the year.
Said:"From what we've heard,[original equipment manufacturers]original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have not yet widely sealed the second half of 2025 contracts yet," the source said.
An automotive OEM in Europe told Fastmarkets they were looking for a €50-100 percent reduction per ton from the level of the first half of the contracts because the gap between long-term supply and spot prices was "too wide".
A number of sources believe that contracts with equipment manufacturers in the automotive industry for the first half of 2025 are worth 650-700 euros per ton.
The second OEM maintenance said the achievable price for the second half of 2025 contracts was €620-640 per ton.
In Southern Europe, meanwhile, Fastmarkets are daily hot-rolled steel
