Following the return of European HRC producers with higher prices after the holidays, the European cold rolled coil (CRC) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) market has returned with a rather positive movement in terms of prices, though actual trade is taking its time to recover. At the same time, higher prices from flat steel mills in the region have been mainly caused by increased input costs and tighter supply, according to sources.
More specifically, in the EU domestic CRC market, tradable prices have settled at €825/mt ex-works in Italy, up by €20-25/mt over the past week, and at €825-835/mt ex-works in the north of the region, against €800-810/mt ex-works last week. At the same time, official offers from mills have been reported at €840-850/mt ex-works levels, while some have even been aiming as high as €880/mt ex-works, which is considered unacceptable and overpriced.
Meanwhile, foreign CRC suppliers have been rather bullish in Europe, and, despite higher offers, some have succeeded in concluding new sales given their competitiveness against local quotes. In particular, offers for ex-Asia CRC have been voiced at €745-775/mt CFR, mainly for March shipment. Offers for ex-Japan CRC directly from a mill have been voiced at €745/mt CFR, while CRC originating from South Korea has been offered at €760/mt CFR through traders. Besides, offers for ex-India CRC through traders have been heard at €765-775/mt CFR, for delivery within 90 days.
In the HDG segment, domestic prices from mills have been voiced ay €850-880/mt ex-works, depending on the destination, up by €50-60/mt as compared to offers before holidays, while offers from ArcelorMittal have increased to €920/mt ex-works in northern Europe, against €850/mt ex-works at the end of last year. At the same time, the tradable prices for HDG have been estimated by customers at around €830-840/mt ex-works, the same as last week. “Workable prices are much lower than mills’ targets, while actual trade is rather slow in the region affected by slow consumption especially in the auto segment. Besides, sentiments in the automotive sector are pessimistic with around a 20 percent drop forecast for this year,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
In the import HDG segment, trade has been limited, with offers for ex-India and ex-Vietnam HDG z100-120 settling at around €815-830/mt CFR. Meanwhile, indicative offers for other ex-Asia HDG have been estimated at €820-850/mt CFR for April-May delivery, according to sources.