The global hot rolled coil (HRC) market has shown mixed regional dynamics this week, with seasonal slowdowns, cautious buying sentiment and diverging price trends shaping activity across key markets. In Asia, ex-China HRC prices have softened slightly as the approaching holiday season has weighed on trading activity and reduced urgency among buyers. Vietnam’s import activity has remained largely silent, with market participants stepping back ahead of the holiday and awaiting a clearer regional price direction. Meanwhile, Indian export prices have displayed an upward bias despite limited mill activity, supported by firmer sentiment and constrained offer volumes. In Turkey, local HRC prices have continued to trend upward, though demand fundamentals remain weak. Mills have pushed for higher pricing amid cost pressures, but buyers have shown resistance, keeping transaction volumes moderate. Across the GCC region, HRC buying has slowed down as market participants adopted a more cautious stance due to mixed import price signals and uncertainty over future trends, while prices in North African markets have remained relatively stable. In Europe, HRC prices have held firm despite slow trading, supported by tighter import availability and reduced competitive pressure from overseas suppliers.
The Chinese HRC market has been experiencing a holiday-driven slowdown over the past week, with sluggish activity across most channels. Local prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) have edged down slightly amid limited sales volumes. As the New Year holiday approaches, the market is entering the final phase of pre-holiday trading, and meaningful activity is not expected to resume until early March. In the meantime, export prices from mills have softened marginally, although offers from traders have generally remained relatively stable. Some short-term demand for tight shipment schedules has already been met, while several mills have temporarily withdrawn their offers. Specifically, the price range for boron-added SS400 HRC from large Chinese mills has been estimated at $470-480/mt FOB, with a midpoint at $475/mt FOB, down by $2.5/mt week on week. However, offers from smaller private mills have remained at $465-475/mt CFR, the same as last week. At the same time, offers from Chinese traders have been voiced at $465-470/mt FOB, the same as last week. Chinese offers for SS400 HRC to other destinations like the Middle East have settled at around $500-510/mt CFR UAE, depending on the supplier, the same as last week, but most customers have still been reporting workable price levels at $490-495/mt CFR UAE. In addition, Chinese Q195 HRC offers through traders to Turkey have been estimated at $500-505/mt CFR for March shipment, the same as last week. As of February 10, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,222/mt ($464/mt), decreasing by RMB 41/mt ($6mt) since February 6, while moving sideways compared to the previous trading day, February 12.
Vietnam’s HRC import market has remained very quiet this week, with purchasing activity and demand subdued ahead of the upcoming Tet holiday. Market participants have largely stayed on the sidelines, resulting in limited price movement and no confirmed transactions at newly voiced levels. Offers for SAE1006 HRC to Vietnamese re-rollers have been reported at $500-502/mt CFR for ex-India April shipment cargoes, broadly unchanged week on week. Buyer indications have been heard at lower levels of $495-498/mt CFR, reflecting cautious sentiments. Offers from South Korea and Japan have increased slightly to $515-520/mt CFR and $510-515/mt CFR, respectively, for April shipment, up by $5-10/mt from last week, while Indonesian SAE1006 HRC (3mm) has been offered at around $515/mt CFR, also up by $5/mt week on week. Despite some upward adjustments in offer levels, the SteelOrbis reference price for imported SAE1006 HRC has remained stable at $495-500/mt CFR, as no deals have been concluded at higher prices and buyers have maintained an extremely cautious stance.
Ex-India HRC prices have shown a slight upward bias over the past week, but most large mills have continued to refrain from submitting offers or pursuing bids against the backdrop of the local market showing signs of tightening supplies across the distribution chain and improving sales realizations. More specifically, ex-India offers in the Middle East have been reported in the range of $485-500/mt FOB, up by $10-20/mt week on week, but the sellers have not been responding to lower bids from customers as most mills are focused on robust domestic sales volumes and better margins. According to sources, offers for ex-India HRC in the UAE have been voiced at $510-525/mt CFR, up by $10-20/mt week on week. Furthermore, this week offers for ex-India HRC in Vietnam have been voiced at $500/mt CFR, compared to $493-500/mt CFR last week, which translates to around $480/mt FOB. At the same time, ex-India HRC offers in Europe have remained rare. Indicative offers for ex-India HRC in Europe have been voiced at $600/mt CFR and above, the same as at the end of last week, which translates to around $550/mt FOB. As a result, the SteelOrbis reference price for ex-India SAE1006 HRC has settled at $480-550/mt FOB, up by $5/mt on the lower end of the range since the end of last week.
In Turkey, HRC prices in the domestic market have been reported at $570-590/mt ex-works in most offers, while there are also indications $5/mt higher. Still, the range is not considered workable as demand is at low levels and is expected to remain slow during the first 10 days of Ramadan. As regards exports, Turkish producers having increased HRC offers for April shipments by $10/mt to $570-580/mt FOB. Some sources have reported a new deal at the lower end of the range for a small volume. In the import segment, China has been offering at around $500-505/mt CFR for April shipment, with $5/mt discounts possible. However, no new deals have been reported since China is about to leave for its holiday period and, in addition, there are few buyers in the market due to slow exports of coated and CRC steel. Russian sanctioned HRC offers have been announced this week for the new round of sales at $480/mt CFR, with one mill offering for March shipment, while another Russian mill is offering for April shipment. Non-sanctioned HRC from Russia is on offer to Turkey at $510/mt CFR, for April shipment.
In the GCC, importing activity has slowed this week as buyers have become cautious amid mixed price trends. Ahead of next week’s holiday in China, some suppliers have slightly reduced their offers to secure bookings. Chinese SS400 offers have eased to $490-500/mt CFR UAE for March-April shipments, down from $495-510/mt CFR previously, with around 8,000-10,000 mt reported to have been booked at $490-495/mt CFR. Meanwhile, Indian suppliers have increased their March shipment offers to $510-525/mt CFR from $495-505/mt CFR last week, though buyers’ interest at these higher levels has remained limited. Additionally, Russian offers have been reported at $470-480/mt CFR, broadly stable week on week, while signals suggest that upward revisions may be attempted soon. On the other hand, Japanese mills have remained absent from the market after finalizing March sales, while they are expected to announce April prices shortly.
In North Africa, local prices in Egypt and Algeria have remained stable at EGP 35,000/mt ($655/mt) ex-works and DZD 88,500/mt ($627/mt) ex-works, respectively. As regards exports, an Egyptian mill is mostly absent from the market, with its latest offers indicated at $550-560/mt FOB to a few buyers around a fortnight back. An Algerian mill is in the market with $570-580/mt FOB offers for April shipments. Ex-Algeria HRC offers to the EU via traders have been reported at €620-640/mt CFR Spain.
European HRC prices have shown signs of a gradual firming over the past week, supported by mills’ stable offers and slightly higher tradable levels, while most foreign suppliers have been targeting higher prices for the next round of sales. However, imports have remained risky and relatively slow due to CBAM-related costs, while, according to sources, mills’ recent price increases have been driven not by stronger regional demand but rather by tighter import availability. Meanwhile, small-volume deals on DDP basis have been reported through traders at price levels around €10-20/mt below official offer prices. Specifically, the target prices for April delivery from mills in northern Europe have been voiced at €670-685/mt ex-works, mainly the same as last week. However, the tradable price levels have been estimated at €650-660/mt ex-works, up by €10/mt week on week. In Italy, mills have been targeting €660-680/mt ex-works mainly for April delivery, mostly the same as last week, while the tradable price level is estimated at €645/mt ex-works, up by €10/mt on the lower end of the range week on week. Meanwhile, in the import segment, indicative offer prices for HRC have settled at €505-565/mt CFR, versus €510-547/mt CFR last week. The lower end of the range corresponds to ex-India HRC offers at $600-625/mt CFR, compared to $600/mt CFR last week, which translates to €505-525/mt CFR southern Europe. Besides, offers for ex-South Korea HRC have been voiced at around $670/mt CFR Antwerp, which translates to around €565/mt CFR for April shipment. HRC import offers including CBAM costs on DDP basis have been voiced at €620-640/mt levels, depending on the supplier, up by €5/mt week on week, though lower offers for ex-India HRC are still voiced at €600/mt DDP, according to sources. Furthermore, following numerous deals signed for ex-Turkey HRC at around €520-525/mt CFR during the past weeks, this week offers for ex-Turkey HRC have been estimated at €525-540/mt CFR, duty included, up by €5-10/mt week on week, and at around €630/mt DDP including CBAM costs.
In Russia, mills have announced new domestic offers for March production, increasing them by RUB 500-1,000/mt ($5-10/mt). Coils are now available at RUB 59,500/mt ($630/mt) and sheets are at RUB 58,000/mt (around $615/mt), both on CPT basis. Demand in the local Russian market has remained at low levels due to subdued construction activity and the negative effects of high interest rates. For exports, one of the sanctioned producers has announced a stable price for April shipments at $430-435/mt FOB Baltic region, while another sanctioned producer is trying to increase its offers for March shipments by $20/mt month on month to $460/mt FOB Black Sea. The non-sanctioned Russian mill is targeting around $510/mt CFR Turkey, which is equal to $485/mt FOB Black Sea.