ArcelorMittal has increased its coil offers across Europe for the second time in the past week and for the third time in March, amid the domestic supply shortage and a lack of competitive import offers. Its new offers for HRC are at €900/mt ex-works, up €50/mt compared to its previous offers in northern Europe, and up €80/mt compared to its previous offers in Italy. Sources told SteelOrbis that at the same time ArcelorMittal has increased its HDG prices to €1,000-1,050/mt ex-works, compared to the previous levels of €970/mt and €940/mt, for northern Europe and Italy respectively. Meanwhile, its CRC prices have reached €980/mt ex-works, up €30/mt in northern Europe and up €60/mt in the Italian market. Lead times are generally into August-September and beyond.
This week, HRC prices have hit a 12-year high in Europe at a range of €800-840/mt ex-works. As reported previously, the supply situation is not likely to improve in the short term, although local mills are slowly increasing their production. "The Liberty Steel crisis and Ever Given blocking the Suez canal are contributing to shaking the market," one source commented, adding that at least one Italian producer has stopped giving offers this week.