European HRC market slows down; factories offer discounts to fight imports
European prices for hot-rolled coils remained virtually unchanged on Wednesday, July 9; some factories were actively selling to compete with cheap imports, although sentiment remains mixed after the summer, sources told Fastmarkets.
Slow consumption, seasonality and bearish expectations among European HRC markets, buyer prices remained low.
German factories offered rolls for delivery in August-September at a price of 560-570 euros (656-668 dollars) per ton, which is about 550-560 euros per ton from the factory.
One supplier in Germany was rumored to have had shipments delayed recently due to some changes in interim inventory management.
In the Benelux region, offers were reported at a price of 570 euros per ton from the integrated mills plant.
Buyers estimated reasonable prices at 530-550 euros per ton from the factory.
It was heard that one large factory in Europe was selling HRC "very aggressively," offering substantial discounts on large volumes to close gaps in order portfolios and amid an influx of cheap imports, the sources said. In particular, two sources reported that sales of €525 per ton of Ex-works, for high volumes.
One source claimed that after a series of aggressive sales in June and July, that the supplier had closed orders until October.
As a result of Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily hot-rolled steel coil domestic index, pickup in Northern Europe on Wednesday was €544.79 per tonne, down by €0.21 per tonne from €545 per tonne on Tuesday, July 8.
The Nordic index decreased by €11.04 per tonne week-on-week and by €61.59 per tonne compared to the previous month.
Sources note that some foreign suppliers have also been selling HRC to Europe quite actively recently, and this will put additional pressure on domestic prices.
"Indonesia is not part of the warranty, so they are fooding to market cheap coils, and large European book buyers as much as they can before the end of the year to make sure they have stock[the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism]starting in January 2026," a German trade source said.
At the end of last week, about 30,000 tons of Indonesian LNG were heard to be ordered at $555 per ton by CFR Antwerp, Fastmarkets reported.
The guests from Turkey to the northern ports were heard for about €500 per ton CFR, the duty has been paid.
Meanwhile, the market situation in Italy was similar, with trading slowing down a step ahead of the summer holidays.
Fastmarkets daily hot-rolled steel coil index domestic, Italy pickup is calculated at €520 per ton on Wednesday, stable day by day.
But the Italian index decreased by €13.33 per tonne week-on-week and by €67.92 per tonne compared to the previous month.
Most sources agreed that achievable