Demand for both cold rolled coils (CRC) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) steel has remained rather limited this week given the approach of winter holiday stoppages and following decent purchases done earlier this month. Meanwhile, offers from European mills have increased and according to sources most mills are still poised to increase their February-March delivery offers after holidays, emphasizing higher input costs and rising import offers, but slow consumption remains the biggest concern.
More specifically, in the EU domestic CRC market, tradable prices have settled at €780-800/mt ex-works, up by €10/mt over the past week, while official offers from the leading producer ArcelorMittal have reached €840/mt ex-works, up by €30/mt since the previous announcement. “The recent increase of ArcelorMittal by €30/mt for HRC, CRC and HDG have maintained bullishness among European mills who aim further hikes for the first quarter of 2024, even though most buyers believe demand will be not sufficient,” a Spanish trader told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, following several deals for ex-Asia CRC at €780/mt CFR for March shipment last week, this week new import offers for CRC have been estimated at €790-800/mt CFR, while no fresh deals have been reported so far.
In the HDG segment, domestic prices have been voiced at €800-820/mt ex-works, up by €10/mt week on week, while official offers from ArcelorMittal have increased to €850/mt ex-works. Several deals for ex-Italy HDG have been reported at €830-850/mt delivered to Germany and France, according to sources. In the meantime, import HDG prices for z120-140, 0.55 mm, mainly from Asia, have settled at €835-840/mt CFR this week, up by around €20/mt over the past two weeks. According to sources, Indian integrated mills reported a trade for 20,000 mt at $925/mt CFR, or around €840/mt CFR for Europe delivery while another eastern based mill reported a trade for 25,000 mt also for Europe delivery at $920/mt CFR (or €835/mt CFR) this week.