HRC prices in the EU remain stable; the market is looking for a direction at Blechexpo
European hot-rolled coil prices remained stable on October 16 as market participants focused their attention on the Blechexpo exhibition in Stuttgart next week.
A trader source said he expects further price increases after the exhibition, caused by the CBAM Carbon tariff and recent European Commission protection proposals.
"Gradually, people are starting to realize that not buying today would be a missed opportunity," he said. "The volumes are small, but people are getting used to higher prices."
It was reported that offers for domestic HRC in Northern Europe were priced at 600 euros per ton at the Ruhr plant. In Southern Europe, offers were reported at a price of 580 euros per ton from a factory in Italy and at a price of 600 euros per ton with delivery to Italy.
In the import market, market participants continued to analyze the latest legislative changes and wondered how this would affect pricing next year.
The same trader source said, "As soon as the service centers realize that the import price will include the cost of CBAM and customs duties, they will agree to higher prices."
He added that even with attractive import offers, especially from Indonesia, uncertainty about costs and quotas remains keeping buyers on the sidelines.
It was reported that import proposals for HRC in Southern Europe were presented at a price of 520-530 euros per ton of CIF in Italy for Indonesian material, including potential costs for CBAM.
The Turkish material was offered at a price of 530 euros per ton CIF in Italy, including anti-dumping duties.
Platts estimated the value of HRC on the domestic market in Northern Europe at 590 euros per tonne at plants in the Ruhr and in Southern Europe at 555 euros per tonne at plants in Italy, which is stable from day to day.
Platts estimated imports of HRC in Northern Europe at 490 euros per tonne, including Antwerp, and in Southern Europe at 485 euros per tonne per tonne in Southern Europe, also unchanged from day to day.
[url=mailto:?cc=ci.support@spglobal.com&subject=EU HRC prices hold steady%3B market seeks direction at Blechexpo&body=https%3A%2F%2Fplattsconnect.spglobal.com%2F%23platts%2FnewsArticle%3FarticleID%3D46d9c9ae-7d56-4f8e-b47c-0b9a2597baf9%0AArticle Highlights%3A%0A%0ABullish price expectations ahead of trade fair%0ABuyers on sidelines despite attractive import offers%0A%0A%0AContinue reading the full article by subscribing to the S%26P Global Commodity Insights Platts Connect. Email ci.support%40spglobal.com to learn more and subscribe.]Riley Waters |Brother Saha |Charles Thompson
spglobal.com