Although most HRC buyers in the EU have still been refusing to accept higher offers from mills, the European producers have maintained their prices stable at high levels saying that they are fully booked for the first quarter of 2025. However, the workable prices are still estimated at below €600/mt ex-works both in Italy and northern Europe. At the same time, the import HRC market has failed to show any improvement during the past week, affected by trade restrictions.
More specifically, although most producers in northern Europe have been claiming they are largely sold out for the first quarter, offers for March delivery HRC are still voiced in the market at around €590-600/mt ex-works, while offers for April delivery coils have remained at €600-620/mt ex-works, depending on the mill, the same as last week. According to sources, however, tradable prices are still estimated at below €600/mt ex-works, with several transactions reported at around €580-590/mt ex-works.
Meanwhile, offers from mills in Italy have been voiced at €600-610/mt ex-works, the same as last week, though buyers estimate workable prices at €570-590/mt ex-works, against €560-580/mt ex-works last week.
In the meantime, in the import segment, most offers are estimated at €540-590/mt CFR, the same as last week. However, several offers for ex-Asia HRC have shown a slight upward bias. The lower end of the range corresponds to ex-Vietnam HRC offers at €540/mt CFR, while offers from Taiwan have been reported at €548-550/mt CFR, against €545/mt CFR last week. Offers for ex-Indonesia HRC have been heard at around €560/mt CFR, up by €10/mt week on week. Besides, indicative offers from South Korea have been estimated at €570-580/mt CFR, the same as last week.
Furthermore, while most offers for ex-Turkey HRC have been assessed at €585-590/mt CFR, including duty, mainly the same as last week, talk about a deal signed at around €570-575/mt CFR southern Europe, duty included, has been circulating in the market, though without any official confirmation provided by the time of publication.