European hot-rolled coil producers’ order books are well filled for 2026 despite subdued demand in recent weeks, market participants said. One of the key factors supporting local producers has been a decline in imports following the introduction of a stricter safeguard system in July this year.
In these conditions, mills in Northern Europe are gradually testing higher prices. The market’s largest player was said to have offered material at €800 ($896,27) per tonne delivered, equivalent to €780–785 per tonne ex-works. Another Northern European seller said it expected prices to rise to €800 per tonne ex-works by the end of the year.
However, deals have yet to reach these levels: the highest price reported during the day was €760 per tonne ex-works.
One buyer said a deal had recently been concluded in the region at €750 per tonne ex-works. Another buyer-side representative put the reference price at €740–750 per tonne.
Fastmarkets’ daily Northern Europe domestic hot-rolled coil index, on an ex-works basis, was €753.75 ($844,456) per tonne on Monday, October 26. This was €4.75 above Friday, October 23, when it stood at €749 per tonne.
The index rose by €5 per tonne over the week and by €12.08 over the month.
In Italy, suppliers were also seeking to secure price increases.
“Everyone is trying to raise prices to €760–770 per tonne delivered (€740–755 ex-works),” an Italian buyer said. According to the buyer, the lowest prices currently available are €740 per tonne ex-works.
Another market participant put the range at which deals could be concluded in Italy at €730–750 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ daily Italian domestic hot-rolled coil index, on an ex-works basis, was €741 per tonne on October 26. The previous day, October 23, it stood at €739.06, meaning it rose by €1.94 in a day.
The index fell by €0.88 per tonne over the week and rose by €3.5 over the month.
Several market participants said Northern European suppliers were increasing their activity in the southern region. This was due to reduced availability caused by production problems at local suppliers in recent months, as well as lower imports.
One source said deals had been concluded at €780–790 per tonne delivered, but this information could not be confirmed by the time of publication.
Author: Vlada Novokreshchenova
fastmarkets.com