While the business operations in the European hot rolled coil (HRC) market have been gradually slowing down ahead of the holidays, the key local producer ArcelorMittal has decided to push its domestic prices across the EU up by around €30/mt. Moreover, some of the sources do not exclude a further hike to be seen at the beginning of the next year, though others believe this will be not easy if more mills restart blast furnaces next year and supply increases. The workable HRC prices have remained relatively stable, with only a slight increase reported this week. In the import segment, however, ex-Asia offers have continued to grow, though most of the suppliers have been stepping back from the active HRC offering in the EU.
In the local EU market, ArcelorMittal announced its new target for HRC at €740-750/mt ex-works, €30/mt up from the previous official levels. Meanwhile, official offers from other European mills have been still estimated at €700-725/mt ex-works, both in Italy and northern Europe. At the same time, the tradable level is currently at €680-695/mt ex-works, against €670-695/mt ex-works last week, with the lower end of the range corresponding to offers in Italy at €680-690/mt ex-works, while the higher end of the range corresponds to northern Europe price idea at €685-695/mt ex-works, for February-March deliveries.
Meanwhile in the import segment, most ex-Asia HRC prices, including those from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam have been voiced at around €650-660/mt CFR for March shipment, versus €640-650/mt CFR last week. According to sources, import trade has been close to zero, with only occasional deals reported for ex-India HRC in particular at around €640-645/mt CFR for February shipment this week. Furthermore, offers for ex-Turkey HRC have been heard at around €685/mt CFR, including duty, up by €5-10/mt week on week.