This week prices for import HRC, from Asia especially, have continued to put pressure on local quotes in Europe. At the same time, European HRC mills have kept refraining from new offers emphasizing their full order books, though, according to market insiders, workable prices in the EU HRC market have decreased further in the past week.
According to sources, considering the bearishness mounting among foreign HRC suppliers in Europe, workable HRC prices have dropped to €750-800/mt ex-works in the Italian market, reflecting around a €50/mt drop over the past week. Offers from Italian mills, however, have been rare this week, with the indicative prices standing at around €800-820/mt ex-works, versus €830/mt ex-works last week. Meanwhile, offers from northern European mills have been estimated at €840/mt ex-works for August and September shipments, though, according to sources, “Nobody will agree to buy at more than €800-820/mt ex-works, given the gap between local and import HRC.”
“Most European HRC producers have just stopped offers, given the collapsing import market. Some still believe import offers will reach the bottom at €600/mt CFR, while local prices may actually decrease to the €700/mt ex-works level,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
It is notable that in the import segment foreign suppliers have continued to cut prices for European buyers this week, with Asian exporters remaining the most aggressive. Thus, import HRC prices in southern Europe have fallen to €640-685/mt CFR, from €660-700/mt CFR last week. More specifically, suppliers from India have decreased their HRC prices to $700-710/mt CFR, which translates to around €640-650/mt CFR, versus $760/mt CFR last week. Offers from Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan have dropped by €35-38/mt week on week to €640-650/mt CFR, with several deals reported at the abovementioned levels. Offers from other Asian suppliers, like those from Japan, have been voiced at $740/mt CFR (or €675/mt CFR, compared to $790/mt CFR last week. Besides, offers for ex-South Korea have been heard at $750/mt CFR Spain, which translates to €685/mt CFR.
At the same time, suppliers from Turkey have been offering their HRC to Europe as well, with offers heard at $770/mt CFR, duty paid, which translates to around €704/mt CFR, and this is considered to be “too high” for European buyers.
Furthermore, import HRC offers in northern Europe have been voiced at €670-685/mt CFR Antwerp, compared to €700-720/mt CFR last week, with most offers coming from Asia.
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