Local prices for cold-rolled and hot-dip galvanized coils in Europe rose by mid-July following the announcement of new, stricter import quotas.
Market participants noted that this will have the most significant impact on CRC due to limited local capacity, while interest in imported materials is currently limited due to precautionary measures, the Carbon Boundary Regulation Mechanism (CBAM) and the ongoing anti-dumping investigation.
In Northern Europe, new CRC offers were 830-850 euros (US$ 947-970) per tonne delivered or 815-835 euros per tonne from the factory, while tradable prices were estimated at 800-820 euros per tonne from the factory, up from 780-800 euros per tonne from the factory last week.
One German customer source said they were only buying limited quantities due to the rather limited demand.
At the same time, another German buyer source said that the price of 800 euros per ton for raw materials was unlikely to be achievable, and estimated an acceptable sales level closer to 820 euros per ton at the manufacturing plant.
Fastmarkets' weekly estimate of prices for cold-rolled rolled products in Northern Europe on Wednesday, July 15, was 800-820 euros per ton, compared with 780-800 euros per ton on July 8.
In Southern Europe, new CRC prices were offered at 840-850 euros per tonne from the factory, with sellers indicating that new deals could potentially reach 830-840 euros per tonne from the factory.
However, no transactions at these levels have been confirmed at the time of publication.
Thus, Fastmarkets' weekly price estimate for cold-rolled steel produced in Southern Europe on exw terms increased to 800-830 euros per ton on July 15, compared with 790-800 euros per ton on July 8.
HDG offers in Northern Europe ranged in prices from 805-825 euros per ton from the factory, which is slightly lower than the asking prices for CRC, which is an unusual situation since HDG prices are traditionally higher than CRC.
But due to the aforementioned local shortage of CRC, as well as the fact that HDG production is annealed for free, CRC prices have increased and either equaled or slightly exceeded HDG prices.
Fastmarkets' weekly estimate of prices for hot-dip galvanized steel coils for domestic consumption in Northern Europe with exw delivery on July 15 was 800-820 euros per ton, compared with 780-800 euros per ton on July 8.
In Southern Europe, HDG offers range from 840 to 865 euros per tonne from the factory.
The market leader announced new offers at a price of 880 euros per tonne delivered, which is equivalent to 665 euros per tonne from the factory.
However, the latest data shows that in the reporting week, export prices
