While European hot rolled coil (HRC) tradable prices have remained largely stable week on week, local producers have as expected continued to test higher offer levels. Strong order books, limited import competitiveness due to CBAM-related costs, and ongoing regulatory support for the domestic industry have continued to underpin mills’ sentiment, even as spot demand and restocking activity have remained subdued across key EU markets.
Specifically, in the local EU market, while offers from ArcelorMittal for April delivery HRC have remained at €700/mt delivered, or around €685/mt ex-works, new target prices for April delivery from other mills in northern Europe have been estimated at €670-680/mt ex-works, up by €20-30/mt week on week. However, the tradable price levels are still estimated at €640-645/mt ex-works, the same as last week.
“Most regional suppliers have already largely concluded their March shipments, leaving limited availability in the near term. Although large-scale restocking has not yet emerged, mills are reported to have healthy order books and face no immediate pressure to secure additional volumes,” a European trader told SteelOrbis,
“Sourcing options remain limited, as imports continue to be viewed as unviable due to the impact of CBAM,” another source said.
In Italy, mills have been targeting €650-660/mt for March delivery, compared to €650/mt ex-works last week. However, the tradable price level has been estimated at €630-640/mt ex-works, the same as last week. According to market insiders, domestic suppliers moved to test higher price levels after ArcelorMittal’s announcement, but buyers have so far pushed back. At the same time, industry sources have widely agreed that CBAM-related costs and reduced import competitiveness remain the dominant factors supporting recent price gains across the European steel market.
Meanwhile, in the import segment, indicative offer prices for HRC have settled at €495-540/mt CFR, mainly the same as last week, while HRC import offers including CBAM costs on DDP basis have been voiced at €615-630/mt levels, depending on the supplier.
In particular, ex-India HRC offers have been voiced at around $600/mt CFR, which translates to around €502/mt CFR, up by around €20/mt week on week. Such a price increase is mainly explained by the significant price recovery in the local Indian market, coupled with the US dollar’s depreciation. Besides, indicative offers for ex-Indonesia HRC have settled at around €510/mt CFR, the same as last week.
Offers for ex-Algeria HRC are still voiced in southern Europe at €540/mt CFR. Besides, offers for ex-Saudi Arabia HRC have been reported at €540/mt CFR, up by €10/mt week on week.
Offers for ex-Turkey HRC have been estimated at €520-530/mt CFR, duty included, while offers for ex-Turkey HRC including CBAM costs have settled at €630/mt DDP.
Furthermore, most offers for ex-Asia origin HRC on DDP basis, including CBAM, through traders have been voiced at €615-620/mt DDP, the same as last week. However, talk about ex-Indonesia HRC offers at €580/mt DDP has been circulating in the market this week.
Meanwhile, the EU continues to explore measures to bolster its domestic steel industry and tighten oversight of imports. Thus, this week, the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee approved proposals aimed at offsetting the impact of global steel overcapacity on the EU market. The measures, adopted by a large majority, would significantly reduce tariff-free import quotas to 18.3 million mt per year, around 47 percent lower than the 2024 level, and impose a 50 percent duty on volumes exceeding the quota or falling outside its scope, as current WTO steel safeguards are set to expire in June 2026.
$1 = €0.84