This week, major European coated steel and cold rolled coil (CRC) producers have continued to remain largely out of the market, citing good order books. At the same time, the continuous decrease in import prices and slow trading have been dragging down the tradable prices for CRC and hot dip galvanized (HDG) in the region.
More specifically, import prices for ex-Asia CRC in southern Europe have been reported at around €780-800/mt CFR, down by €20-30/mt week on week. In particular, offers for ex-Vietnam CRC have been voiced at $860-870/mt CFR (or €780-790/mt CFR), ex-India CRC has been heard at $880/mt CFR (€800/mt CFR), while offers from Taiwan have been heard at €790/mt CFR. This means the gap between import prices and local CRC quotes has been at €150/mt, with local workable CRC prices standing at €930-940/mt ex-works.
Tradable prices for CRC in northern Europe have been voiced at around €940/mt ex-works, versus €940-950/mt ex-works last week. Meanwhile, offers for ex-India CRC have been heard at $865-870/mt CFR Antwerp, (or €784-790/mt CFR) this week.
Meanwhile, local prices for HDG have been estimated at €950-960/mt ex-works, with the lower end of the range corresponding to offers in Italy and with the higher end in northern Europe. “Last week, some volumes were sold from Italy to Germany at €960-970/mt delivered, but I think this week the workable price should be a minimum €10/mt lower,” a market insider said.
At the same time, HDG import prices in southern Europe have still been on the wane this week, mainly due to the aggressive offers coming from Asia. In particular, offers from Vietnam have been heard at around €880/mt CFR, while offers from India have dropped by €17/mt CFR to €883/mt CFR southern Europe over the past week.
$1 = €0.91