This week, the range of domestic offer prices has remained mostly unchanged, with sources expecting the market to weaken further in August, especially in southern Europe due to summer breaks. At the same time, talk about €20-30/mt price increases from EU mills for HRC for October delivery has been circulating in the market as demand may pick up after the summer season against the backdrop of low stocks and better demand. However, most EU buyers doubt the sustainability of any anticipated upward price movement.
Specifically, offers from mills have remained at €630-650/mt ex-works in northern Europe and at €630-640/mt ex-works in Italy, both mainly for September delivery, the same as last week. Meanwhile, the tradable price level is still estimated by most distributors at around €620-630/mt ex-works in both regions, with transactions for small tonnages of HRC reported at the abovementioned levels. “Mills are expected to increase their HRC offers for October deliveries to around €660-670/mt ex-works after the summer break, but the sustainability of the price rise is questionable, as nobody expects any significant demand recovery,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
In the meantime, business activity in the import segment has remained slow this week, with most offers for ex-Asia HRC heard at €570-610/mt CFR level for September-October shipments, down by €5/mt on average week on week. Specifically, offers for ex-Vietnam HRC have been voiced at €570/mt CFR, though a number of sources have reported ex-Vietnam offer prices at as low as €540/mt CFR for big-volume order. Offers for ex-Japan HRC have been voiced at €580-600/mt CFR, while offers for ex-Indonesia HRC have settled at €610/mt CFR. Furthermore, offers for ex-India HRC have been heard at around €600/mt CFR.
Suppliers from Turkey have been offering their materials at around €600/mt CFR, including duty, while, according to sources, talk about a deal signed at €590/mt CFR at the end of last week has been circulating in the market. Besides, offers for ex-Saudi Arabia HRC have been heard at €610/mt CFR.
