This week has brought some changes to the European HRC market as many suppliers have started to claim that domestic HRC prices have already reached the bottom given that most European mills are not accepting any requests for discounts, while producers in the north have even made attempts to raise their offers. In the import segment, however, the situation is still sluggish in terms of sales and mainly unchanged in terms of prices.
Following significant drops in local HRC prices in Europe during previous weeks, this week workable prices in the EU have settled at €600-620/mt ex-works, against €585-610/mt ex-works last week. More specifically, local producers in Italy have been refusing to go lower than €600/mt ex-works this week, while some offers have been heard even as high as €620/mt ex-works. Meanwhile, local HRC prices in northern Europe have been voiced at €610-620/mt ex-works, though a few deals have still been reported at €600/mt, the same as last week, while several mills’ offers have been heard at €630-640/mt ex-works, up by €10/mt week on week.
“We have the feeling that we have touched the bottom,” a market insider told SteelOrbis, adding, “However, it is hard to believe in a real rebound instead of just an adjustment to cover costs, but there is not a significant uptrend as real demand leaves much to be desired.”
“Demand is very low, but also it is difficult to find material, mainly if you want something different from commodity grade,” another source said.
Meanwhile, import HRC offers in southern Europe have remained relatively stable over the past week, standing at €580-615/mt CFR, depending on the supplier. Offers from Vietnam are still voiced at €580-585/mt CFR Italy, while offers from other Asian suppliers have remained at €600-615/mt CFR. According to sources, trade is still close to zero due to longer lead times as compared to local materials and rather uncompetitive offers.
