The trade in the European CRC and galvanized steel market has been rather quiet lately with the prices remaining relatively stable for several weeks now. The buyers are reported to be cautious about piling up excessive stocks, while the mills, feeling the low activity on the import side due to unclear quota issue and a potential uptrend in the HRC segment for August and September, have started to show slight resistance to the lowest bids. As mentioned, demand as well as the number of import offers for CRC and HDG in Europe have been scarce lately.
In the domestic EU market, the CRC prices have settled at €770-810/mt ex-works, stable over the past two weeks. The workable price levels, according to sources, have been at €770-785/mt ex-works, while some mills have been insisting on not going below €795/mt ex-works, especially in the southern part of Europe. In the import segment, the number of offers has been very limited due buyers’ fears. Sources have reported indications for ex-India CRC at €790/mt DDP and $785-790/mt CFR, while ex-Ukraine material has been offered at €780-790/mt CPT to eastern Europe. CRC from South Korea was at the latest reported at €830-840/mt DDP.
Local HDG prices have also been mainly stable across Europe at €780-800/mt ex-works with the demand reportedly at moderate levels. Similarly to the CRC segment, some of the mills have started to resist going below €800/mt ex-works in negotiations amid the potential price rise for flats expected for August-September. The number of import offers for HDG has also been limited this week due to low buyers’ interest. Ex-Japan Z140 material was available at €910/mt CFR, sources reported. Offers for galvanized material from Ukraine have been reported at €860/mt DDP eastern Europe.
