Global steel producer ArcelorMittal has increased its coil offers significantly across Europe on August 26, despite a continuous standstill in the European market, with both mills and buyers staying largely out of the market. According to sources, the company’s HRC offers for October shipment are up €50/mt, from €750/mt announced last month, to €800/mt. At the same time, the producer’s offers for CRC and HDG have also been increased by €100/mt and €130/mt, respectively. The reasons for the increase are higher production costs given surging energy prices coupled with better sentiments for demand for September.
Sources have underlined that few mills have returned to the market with offers after summer vacation and are giving very limited volumes because of the great uncertainty currently prevailing. “Italian Arvedi which sold before its HRC to Germany at €750/mt DDR, was initially aiming to reach €800/mt after the holidays. But we are still wondering if this level can be accepted by buyers in today's market with a soft demand,” a representative of an Italian mill told SteelOrbis.