Although demand has been showing some signs of a rebound in the European HRC market given more inquiries from northern European customers, most market insiders have kept reporting slow transaction activity given the unclear price expectations. At the same time, import HRC prices have continued to decrease, with the most aggressive offers coming from Asia.
Accordingly, the general range of prices in the EU market has settled at €630-670/mt ex-works, compared to €650-700/mt ex-works last week. In particular, the tradable level estimated by Italian mills has been voiced at €630-650/mt delivered, which translates to around €620-640/mt ex-works, down by €10/mt week on week. Meanwhile, HRC transaction prices have decreased in northern Europe as well, falling to €650-670/mt delivered for ex-Italian materials, while local prices have been heard at €630-650/mt ex-works. According to market insiders, although more inquiries have started to be reported in the region given the traditional restocking period before the winter holidays, while trading activity has remained limited as many buyers are still expecting more declines in prices.
“It is still hard to say if we have reached the bottom, many believe that we have not, and others still have enough materials in stock,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, import HRC offers in southern Europe have maintained their downtrend this week, falling by €10-30/mt week on week to €570-620/mt CFR, with the lower end of the range corresponding to offers from Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Vietnam to Italy, while the higher end of the range corresponds to offers to Spain. Asian suppliers have continued to be the most aggressive in the EU market, and, according to sources, lower offers and even some deals at €560/mt CFR have been also circulating in the Italian market. “We heard Taiwan and South Korea have managed to sell HRC to Italy at around €560/mt CFR, but it has not been confirmed so far,” an international trader said. Furthermore, according to market insiders, a deal for around 20,000/mt of ex-Vietnam HRC has reportedly been signed at $510-520/mt FOB (around €560-570/mt CFR).
Meanwhile, buyers in Spain have reported deals for ex-Japan and ex-Taiwan HRC signed at around €620/mt CFR, down by €10/mt week on week. “Now with the depreciation of the currency in Japan, they [Japanese suppliers] can go below €600/mt CFR Spain, but still these offers at €560-580/mt CFR in the Spanish market are not true,” a market insider told SteelOrbis. Offers for ex-Egypt HRC have been voiced at €610-615/mt CFR Spain.
