In the week ending Thursday, October 22, the hot-rolled steel markets in Europe remained sluggish. Due to low customer activity, prices for domestic and imported rental products were mostly unchanged, market participants told Fastmarkets.
In Northern Europe, the prices at which deals were ready remained in the range of €740-750 per tonne on ex-works terms, while offers were received at €750-760 per tonne on the same terms.
Trade was sluggish. Most of the proposals made provided for delivery in December, and some market participants noted that some regional suppliers had already sold out before the end of the year.
Other sources disagreed with this assessment: according to them, customers have large stocks, and some service centers have enough products not to actively replenish them even in 2027. In addition, the mills are ready to sell hot-rolled products at 720 euros per ton on ex-works terms. These data were not taken into account when calculating the index for October 22, as they have not been confirmed.
The Fastmarkets daily index for domestic hot-rolled products in Northern Europe, ex-works, reached €748 per tonne on October 22, up by €1.33 from October 21 (€746.67).
The index rose by €3 per ton in a week and by €4.25 in a month.
The Italian market was also quiet. During the day, transaction prices were estimated at about €730 per ton of ex-works. Earlier in the week, the range was €730-750 per ton, however, according to market participants, only a small amount of metal was sold at the upper limit, and the price of €730 per ton was considered more realistic.
The Fastmarkets daily index for domestic hot-rolled products in Italy, ex-works, reached €738.75 per tonne on October 22. During the day, it decreased by €3.75 from €742.50 per ton on October 21.
During the week, the index dropped by €5 per ton, but during the month it added €3.50.
The supply in Italy is likely to increase in the near future.: Arvedi has reportedly relaunched the hot rolling line, which was stopped at the end of September due to technical problems.
Meanwhile, the Italian government has allowed Acciaierie d'Italia to keep the Taranto plant's hot rooms heated no later than December 15 in order to avoid irreversible damage to the equipment. The company is challenging the court-ordered shutdown of the plant, but the permit does not give the right to normal steel production.
Only in Central Europe did suppliers try to raise prices, but they met serious resistance from buyers. The lack of Ukrainian rolled products contributed to the strengthening of the positions of European factories: production at Ukrainian enterprises was disrupted due to serious damage to equipment as a result of Russian attacks.
The largest supplier has announced new offers