In the local EU HRC market, trade has been expectedly slow-paced, and some mills have already withdrawn their offers and are planning to return with new, most likely higher ones by the end of August. Business activity in the import HRC segment has been quiet in the European market due to the approaching vacation season, but also following a rather heavy booking period over the past two to three weeks. The quota system adjustment has urged European buyers to restock with imported HRC mainly from Turkey, India, and Vietnam on a CFR basis, as SteelOrbis reported earlier. As a result, only limited demand has been reported for imports this week, while the next 15 days are likely to be extremely quiet.
In Italy, few sellers are ready to deal at €700/mt ex-works, and indications have moved up to €705-715/mt and even €720/mt ex-works. In northern Europe and Spain, the latest deals have been closed at €710/mt ex-works, while offers are at €715-720/mt and up to €740-750/mt ex-works specifically in the northern region. In Central Europe, according to sources, the key suppliers are offering HRC at €740-750/mt delivered. “[The market is] expecting a major move up on all flat products after the summer break. Imports are suffering from a lack of workable quotas,” a trading source told SteelOrbis.
In the import segment this week, offers from Turkey stood at €575-580/mt CFR, while deals for 5,000-10,000 mt, according to sources, were closed with suppliers from Japan and Taiwan, both at €735-740/mt DDP, SteelOrbis has learned. An Egyptian mill most recently offered at $690-700/mt CFR, while indications were also at €720-725/mt DDP, sources said.
