European prices for hot-rolled steel fell slightly on Tuesday, May 26, amid continued weak demand from buyers with sufficient supplies, Fastmarkets sources said.
In Northern Europe, buyers estimated the possible price at 660-690 euros (768-803 dollars) per ton for delivery in June-July, while for large shipments exceeding 5,000 tons, this was the lowest level.
Earlier in May, one of Europe's leading steel producers and integrated plants in Germany were selling HRC for July delivery at rather aggressive prices, according to sources, at about 675-685 euros per ton (660-670 euros per ton from the plant) to try to fill gaps in their supplies. Summer order books. But demand remained limited, and only a few buyers were interested in large shipments.
Transaction prices were much lower than the official HRC offer prices from local integrated plants in Germany and the Benelux region, which were about 710-730 euros per ton of delivered products (695-715 euros per ton of finished products), although one integrated plant in the Benelux region remained inactive after equipment problems occurred.
"There are more than enough supplies, and some service centers have said they won't need the materials until September," said a German buyer.
"HRC sales from the warehouse fell by about 20% in April 2026 compared to March. And in May it will be even lower – in May we had 17 working days due to numerous holidays," the buyer added.
However, according to sources, European manufacturers, having received part of the orders for July, have become less flexible in pricing.
"[Europe's leading steel producer]collected enough orders for July and then stopped active sales," said a second customer from Germany.
"[The steel producer]is likely to return soon with higher offers, and the plants hope that the new guarantees[will help]prices recover later this year," the buyer added.
On Tuesday, several sources told Fastmarkets that ArcelorMittal, a leading European steel producer, expected a price increase of 80 euros per ton in the case of new offers, while the latest offers from the supplier for June-July supply were announced at 730 euros per ton, although there have been no recent reports of confirmed deals at such a level. the level.
The daily price index for Fastmarkets hot-rolled steel in the domestic market, exw in Northern Europe, calculated on May 26, amounted to 676.46 euros per ton, which is 3.54 euros lower than in May, compared with 680.00 euros per ton on May 22.
The European HRC index from Fastmarkets was not published on May 25 due to the spring bank holidays in the UK, but during
