Business activity remains subdued in the European HRC market. The holiday season continues throughout the region, sources said.
On the part of a source from Northern Europe, the latest orders for the material are scheduled to be delivered in October in the range of €560-570 ($648-659) per ton of Ex-work, compared with offers of €590 per ton of Ex-work.
There are also unconfirmed reports in the market regarding the market leader, an increase in the price to €610 per ton of Ex-work.
At the same time, some sources on the buyer side of the market expected prices to retreat slightly in the next few weeks amid a lack of activity.
Calculations
Fastmarkets’ daily hot-rolled steel coil index domestic, Northern Europe pickup was €560 per ton on Monday, August 4, stable from Friday, August 1.
The Italian market has been quiet, with the country approaching its traditional August period and operational life.
Similarly with colleagues in Northern Europe, Italian factories have increased prices to €550-555 per ton of Ex-work with September delivery material still in stock, but no business has been heard above €530 per ton of Ex-work.
Fastmarkets daily hot-rolled steel coil index domestic, EXW in Italy was calculated at €527.50 per tonne on Monday, down slightly at €0.83 per tonne from €528.33 per tonne on Friday.
The Italian market remains influenced by the import supply, despite the fact that buyers are becoming more and more cautious about it, against the background of the approaching introduction of the Carbon Boundary Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
Indonesian material was heard to be available in €450-470 euros per ton of Ex-work.
HRC rolls from Turkey were offered at €510-520 per ton CFR with payment of duty.
And Algerian coils, which have quotas in the EU, were offered in the range of €520-525 per ton CFR.
Vlada Novokreshchenova
Fastmarkets.com
