Global steel giant ArcelorMittal has increased its coil offers once again across Europe, on the back of the persisting lack of material. Its new offers for HRC are at €970/mt ex-works, up €50/mt compared to last week. At the same time, ArcelorMittal's offers for CRC and HDG are both at €1,120/mt ex-works, also up €50/mt compared to the previous levels.
Since the beginning of this year, ArcelorMittal has made seven price announcements, two in January, three in March, and two in April. From late June 2020 to date, domestic HRC prices in Europe have increased by more than €520/mt on average.
On April 14, SteelOrbis reported HRC transaction prices at €890-910/mt ex-works in Europe. By the end of this week, however, prices have already hit the €920/mt level. According to sources, transaction prices are "increasing day by day" and could reach ArcelorMittal's new targets within a short time. "Some rumors say the current safeguards will not be extended when it expires at the end of June. That, in my opinion, would explain why ArcelorMittal is trying to push up prices as much as possible," one trader told SteelOrbis.