Although domestic producers attempted to raise prices in late April and early May, the European markets for cold rolled coil (CRC) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) products have remained largely stable since the end of April. The main reasons were subdued demand and the absence of upward momentum in the hot rolled coil (HRC) segment. On the import side, CRC and HDG offers have seen a slight increase, but trading activity has stayed limited, as many European buyers continue to hold sufficient inventories and face no urgent need to restock.
More specifically, in the domestic CRC market, European mills have been offering their materials at €740-750/mt ex-works for July delivery both in Italy and in northern Europe, the same as last week and up by around €10/mt on the lower end of the range over the past two weeks. However, tradable prices have been voiced at around €730-740/mt ex-works in Italy and at €740/mt ex-works in northern Europe.
In the import segment, most offers for CRC have moved up over the past two weeks, standing at €635-685/mt CFR, depending on the supplier. Offers for ex-India CRC have been voiced at €635-640/mt CFR, while offers for ex-South Korea CRC have settled at around €685/mt CFR. Besides, offers from Vietnam have also been voiced at around €670/mt CFR this week, according to sources.
In the meantime, in the HDG segment, domestic offers from mills have settled at €750-780/mt ex-works, against €740-780/mt ex-works two weeks ago and around €750-760/mt ex-works in Italy. However, domestic workable prices in the region have settled at around €740-750/mt ex-works both in Italy and in the north, mainly the same as two weeks ago.
In the import segment, trade has remained limited, with offers for ex-Asia HDG Z100-120 voiced at €730-750/mt CFR, depending on supplier, against €695-730/mt CFR two week ago, depending on the supplier.
$1 = €0.88