The tradable prices for cold rolled coil (CRC) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) have dropped once again this week amid continuing slow demand from end-users in Europe, in automotive and construction in particular, coupled with further price drops in the hot rolled coil (HRC) segment. At the same time, although stocks levels of CRC and HDG have been falling in the region due to continuous postponements of restocking, most buyers are still claiming “enough levels” amid extremely slow orders from consuming sectors.
Specifically, in the domestic CRC market in the EU, tradable prices have dropped to €700-720/mt ex-works, versus $710-730/mt ex-works last week, with the lower end of the range corresponding to offers in Italy at €700-720/mt ex-works, and the higher end corresponding to offers at €720/mt ex-works in northern Europe. “Order books are still very thin for CRC and also for HDG. Some sellers in the south still have materials for November delivery, while in the north most mills are offering for early December delivery,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, import prices for CRC in southern Europe remained unchanged at €675-680/mt CFR. According to sources, a deal for ex-Japan CRC is reported to have been transacted in Italy at €680/mt CFR. Offers for other ex-Asia CRC have been ranging at €675-680/mt CFR, while one of the Indian mills has increased its offers to €720/mt CFR, according to sources. As for import offers for CRC in northern Europe, most prices have been heard at €680-685/mt CFR, down by €5/mt on the higher end of the range week on week.
At the same time, tradable local prices for HDG have been estimated at €720-730/mt ex-works Italy, down by €10-20/mt week on week, and at €730-740/mt ex-works in northern Europe, falling by €10/mt over the past week. In the meantime, import offers for HDG in southern Europe have settled at €780-795/mt CFR, with offers from Vietnam coming at around $785-790/mt CFR. Offers for imported HDG in northern Europe have remained unchanged at €780-795/mt CFR.