After a handful of selective discounts in the local market last week, the EU HRC market has entered a more stable phase, with domestic prices largely holding steady this week. The limited concessions seen previously were mostly linked to mills trying to close remaining June volumes rather than signalling any broader shift in sentiment. On the contrary, producers - especially in northern Europe - are becoming more confident and are increasingly targeting higher price levels for July delivery, encouraged by tighter availability and a more disciplined sales approach. At the same time, import activity remains muted, as buyers continue to stay on the sidelines amid CBAM-related uncertainty, safeguard constraints and lingering geopolitical risks in the Middle East, all of which are reducing the appeal of overseas material despite still relatively competitive offers.
While most local HRC prices from mills in northern Europe have been estimated at €720-730/mt ex-works, up by €10/mt on the lower end of the range week on week, most producers have started to target higher offers for July delivery at around €750/mt ex-works, according to sources. However, the tradable price levels have settled at €700-730/mt ex-works, versus €690-710/mt ex-works last week, as several suppliers have still been aiming to finalize remaining bookings through more competitive pricing.
In Italy, offers from mills have remained at €700-710/mt ex-works for June delivery, while the tradable price levels are estimated at €700-705/mt ex-works for delivery in June, up by €5-10/mt week on week. However, trading activity has been largely subdued.
The import market has continued to show very limited activity, as only a small number of fresh offers have been reported by industry sources. Indicative offer prices for HRC have settled at €600-690/mt CFR, with the lower end of the range corresponding to indicative offers from India, while indicative offers for ex-Egypt HRC have been voiced at around €688/mt CFR, including 11.7 percent duty, but excluding CBAM costs. Meanwhile, offers for ex-Turkey HRC have been estimated at around €650/mt CFR.
Furthermore, offers for import HRC on DDP base have been estimated at €710-750/mt, versus €690-700/mt last week. According to market insiders, offer for ex-Indonesia HRC through traders have been voiced at €710/mt DDP, up by €10/mt week on week.
