The European downstream flat steel market has weakened again this week as the subdued demand and seasonal quietness have persisted. Besides, the bearish outlook in the hot rolled coil (HRC) segment has continued to weigh on cold rolled coil (CRC) and hot dip galvanized (HDG) prices in the region. Still, import offers for both CRC and HDG have remained largely unchanged, with only minor downward adjustments.
More specifically, in the domestic CRC market, mills in Italy have been offering their materials at €700/mt ex-works, compared €720/mt ex-works two weeks ago. In the north, most offers from mills have been voiced at €700-710/mt ex-works, down by €20/mt over the past two weeks. However, tradable prices have been voiced in Italy at around €680-700/mt ex-works, against €700/mt ex-works two weeks ago, and at €690-700/mt ex-works in northern Europe, down by €20/mt over the past two weeks.
In the import segment, most offers for CRC have moved sideways over the past two weeks, standing at €610-640/mt, depending on the supplier. Offers for ex-South Korea and ex-Taiwan CRC have been voiced at around €610/mt CFR, while offers from other Asian suppliers have been estimated at around €610-640/mt CFR. Besides, offers for ex-Brazil CRC have been reported at €620/mt CFR.
In the meantime, in the HDG segment, domestic offers both from mills in Italy and northern Europe have settled at €700-720/mt ex-works against €730-740/mt ex-works two weeks ago. However, domestic workable prices in the region have settled at around €700/mt ex-works, down by at least €20/mt over the past two weeks.
In the import segment, trade has remained limited, with offers for ex-Asia HDG Z100-120 voiced at €670-700/mt CFR, depending on the supplier, down by €20/mt on the higher end of the range over the past two weeks.