On Monday, July 21, the markets for hot-rolled steel in Europe were mostly calm. Seasonal holidays, which have already begun in the north, as well as planned repairs in August, have added to the already modest demand, with most buyers preferring to take a wait-and-see attitude and wait to see how the situation will develop after the summer break.
Last week, plants in Northern Europe began testing the market with slightly better offers from €560-580 ($655-679) per ton of Ex-work], using as leverage the introduction of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2026, and potential reduced interest in importing the material is scheduled for delivery early next year. of the year.
As of Monday, several buyer sources said that some factories in Germany did not have materials available for September shipments, while one market source said the market leader had no stake in the spot market at the moment, with others not offering prices below €560 per ton of ex-work
"I think the time when you can purchase stuff up to €550[per tonne]pickup is over," one processor from Germany said.
However, some buyers have expressed doubts that these new, higher levels can be easily accepted, at least in the short term, due to the lack of demand.
Fastmarkets calculation of the daily steel HRC index, domestic, pickup of Northern Europe, 550.83 euros ($644.46) per ton on July 21, compared with 551.67 euros per ton on July 18.(0:5 manufacturers)In Italy, it followed the example of its colleagues in Northern Europe, with fresh offers from €540-550 per ton of Ex-work, but feasible prices are still in the range of €510-520 per ton of Ex-work.
Fastmarkets daily hot-rolled steel coil index, domestic, on EXW terms in Italy, was calculated at €523.33 per ton on July 21, from €525 per ton Ex-work on July 18.
The Italian market was comparatively more heavily dependent on imports than in Northern Europe.
The Indonesian coil offers scheduled for delivery in September ranged from 450-460 euros per ton CFR.
The Algerian material was reported to be available at €500 per ton CFR.
In Northern Europe and India, the coil was priced at $590 per ton on CFR terms.
Vlada Novokreshchenova
Fastmarkets.com
