European hot-rolled coil prices held ground on Friday, August 29, with sources expecting more clarity on price guidance in the coming weeks, Fastmarkets has heard.
Producers in Northern Europe have achieved some price increases in recent weeks, with supply rising from rock levels in June and July.
In particular, the HRC has been trading at €570-580 ($665.79-667.37) per ton of Ex-work since October.
On Friday, most buyer sources estimated the possible prices at €580 per ton of Ex-work.
At the same time, the supply target of €600-630 per ton of Ex-work for October-November time is still considered "unrealistic" by local buyers amid a lack of demand.
One Italian supplier offers October delivery of PC Euro 610-620 per ton with delivery to Germany, it has not been reported so far at these sales levels.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel index HRC, domestic, pickup of Northern European Euro 578.33 per ton on Friday, down by €1.05 per ton from €579.38 per ton a day earlier.
The Nordic index decreased by €4.58 per ton week-on-week and by €20.00 month-on-month.
European suppliers supported better deals despite resistance from customers and stable user needs.
The sources said that the upward trend was mainly supported by expectations of a reduction in imports and an increase in the cost of steel imports in general due to the introduction of the Carbon Limit Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and new trade measures to replace the guarantee.
"Now factories in Asia are offering October shipments and there is a chance that the material will not arrive in December, therefore subject to CBAM in January 2026," a buyer in the Benelux countries told Fastmarkets.
Initial estimates suggest that imported coils will be €50-70 per ton more expensive when CBAM comes into force.
Another source noted that the mills were favorable due to the impending long-term contract negotiations with end users.
"The gap between long-term and spot prices is huge now; it's over €120. Thus, the plants are trying to raise spot prices in order to take a more advantageous position in the negotiations," said the German buyer.
Meanwhile, the daily HRC index of Fastmarkets steel, for domestic consumption, exw in Italy, stood at 541.67 euros per ton on Friday, unchanged from day to day.
The Italian index rose by 0.84 euros per tonne week-on-week and by 13.54 euros per tonne month-on-month.
Many interested parties were still on vacation and expected to return in September.
Integrated mills and rolling rolls in Italy were oriented at 570-580 euros per ton year-on-year.- works for the October tonnage. Estimates of achievable prices in the range from 540 to 550 euros per
