European cold rolled coil (CRC) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) prices have remained largely stable over the past week, with only a slight upward tendency in some offers. Import activity, however, has remained muted as market participants are still cautious amid uncertainty surrounding the upcoming the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) framework, while the newly launched antidumping (AD) investigation in the CRC segment has added further pressure to sentiment.
According to sources, uncertainty over upcoming regulatory changes continues to stall activity in the European downstream flat steel market. Market participants are particularly cautious ahead of the implementation of CBAM, scheduled to take effect in January 2026.
Specifically, in the domestic CRC market, mills in Italy have been offering their materials at €640-650/mt ex-works, compared to €635-650/mt ex-works two weeks ago. In the north, most offers from mills have been voiced at €670-690/mt ex-works, up by €10/mt on the lower end of the range over the past two weeks.
In the import segment, most offers for CRC have moved sideways over the past week, standing at €610-650/mt CFR, depending on the supplier. Offers for ex-Taiwan and ex-Japan CRC have been voiced at around €610/mt CFR, the same as two weeks ago, while offers from other Asian suppliers have been estimated at around €610-620/mt CFR levels.
Notably, adding to the CBAM pressure, the European Commission last week initiated an AD investigation into CRC imports from India, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam. The probe, which covers more than half of the EU’s total CRC inflows, was triggered by a complaint from European steelmakers’ association EUROFER, which accuses these suppliers of selling at unfairly low prices. Thus, industry observers believe the case could dampen appetite for imported CRC in the near term. While this may eventually shift demand toward European producers and offer some support for domestic prices, the impact is expected to be limited in the short run as end-user consumption remains sluggish.
In the HDG segment, domestic offers from mills in Italy have settled at around €655-685/mt ex-works, compared to €655-660/mt ex-works two weeks ago, while offers from mills in the north of Europe have been reported at €680-700/mt ex-works, compared to €670-700/mt ex-works two weeks ago.
In the import segment, trade has remained limited, with offers for ex-Asia HDG Z100-120 voiced at €680-700/mt CFR, depending on the supplier, up by €10-20/mt over the past two weeks.
