The market sentiment in the hot-rolled coil (HRC) segment in the EU has remained rather negative. The buyers’ pressure continued and the mills have once again provided discounts, and, although the mills are already squeezed by their costs, many believe the market has not yet hit the bottom.
Currently, in the southern part of the EU, Italian mills are offering HRC at €650-660/mt delivered, which translates to €640-650/mt ex-works with the tradable level estimated at €630-640/mt ex-works. As a result, the prices in this part of the EU decreased by another €10/mt over the week, but the trade has remained limited as the demand has not shown any sign of recovery. The HRC offer levels in the northern part of the EU have dropped more significantly over the week – by €20-30/mt to €650-660/mt ex-works, while the workable prices are at €640-660/mt ex-works. As a result, the tradable HRC price levels across the EU have decreased by €10-30/mt over the week to €630-660/mt ex-works.
In the import segment, the European buyers have shown minimal activity this week, particularly due to the lack of clarity regarding the import quota for the second quarter, therefore the trade has been paused for now. Ex-Vietnam offers have inched down by $5/mt over the week to $615/mt CFR south which is around €570-575/mt CFR. Still, around €560/mt CFR levels have been reported by Italian sources.
Taiwanese HRC offers have declined by $5/mt to $620-625/mt CFR or €580-585/mt CFR according to the latest exchange rate. India has offered $630-635/mt (€590-595/mt) CFR, while South Korean indications have been heard at $640/mt (close €600/mt CFR).
In the meantime, both Egypt and Japan have settled at $630/mt CFR this week or €590/mt CFR, which is a $5-10/mt decline for Egypt over the week, but stable for level for Japan.
As for Turkey, the mills’ latest offer before the holiday had been reported at $650-670/ mt CFR duty paid which is around €610-625/mt CFR and is currently the highest level in the European market. “Turkey might be of interest for Europe even without huge discounts if the sellers are to offer the shorter lead time so that the quota risks are lower,” a source told SteelOrbis.