The situation has remained broadly stable in the European cold rolled coil (CRC) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) markets in the past week, with only small upward corrections made by both European mills and foreign suppliers especially in coated segment, while most customers have continued to push for discounts. Thus, most deals for local CRC and HDG have been reported at relatively the same levels as last week.
More specifically, in the domestic CRC market in the EU, most producers are offering at €760-790/mt ex-works, same as last week, with the lower end of range corresponding to Italian mills’ offers at €760-770/mt ex-works, while CRC offers in northern Europe have been heard at €770-790/mt ex-works.
At the same time, import prices for CRC in southern Europe have been voiced at slightly higher levels this week, standing at €675-700/mt CFR, versus €670-690/mt CFR last week. More specifically, offers for ex-India CRC have been voiced in Italy at €675-680/mt CFR, but at €680-690/mt CFR Spain. Meanwhile, suppliers from South Korea have increased their CRC prices by €10/mt week on week to €690-700/mt CFR, while offers from Taiwan have been reported at €700/mt CFR Spain, up by €10-20/mt over the past week. Besides, according to Spanish customers, offers for ex-Turkey CRC have been voiced at €710-715/mt CFR, but with a shorter lead time as compared to Asian suppliers.
Local prices for HDG have been estimated at €770-800/mt ex-works Italy, up by €20/mt from the higher end of range week on week, and at €790-810/mt ex-works in northern Europe, versus €780-800/mt ex-works last week. However, although local mills have been trying to push prices up, customers have continued to seek for the same prices as last week given slow demand recovery. Several deals have been reported in Germany at €800/mt delivered, while most sellers have been seeking €800-820/mt delivered. Furthermore, most buyers in Italy have estimated the tradable prices at €770/mt ex-works, same as last week.
As for HDG import in the EU, most offers have been reported at €780-815/mt CFR, up by €10-15/mt over the past week. Offers for ex-India HDG have been voiced at €780-795/mt CFR Europe this week. However, there were rumours circulating on the market about a deal for 12,000 mt of HDG signed with a Europe based trading arm of its affiliate for Rotterdam delivery at $743/mt FOB. Though, accosting to sources, this price on FOB basis is “so low because it does not include 25% duty”, which means real deal price is at minimum €820/mt CFR level. “India is so dangerous due to the small quota they have for galvanized steel. When quota is exhausted, duty is 25%, but it also depends on the quantity, so in some cases you may pay only around 16% or so,” a Spanish trader told SteelOrbis.
Furthermore, offers for ex-Vietnam HRC 0.57 Z140 have been reported at around €810-815/mt CFR in Europe this week, with no deals reported so far though, as customers in southern Europe have been still hoping to reach at least €780-790/mt CFR in new deals.