HRC prices in the EU domestic market have remained stable in the past week at €700-720/mt ex-works. However, the upper end of the range has now become more rare in transactions, according to sources. As reported previously, buying activities have slowed down recently in anticipation of possible price declines and also due to the wait for a clearer situation in the international raw material and steel markets. Meanwhile, last week ArcelorMittal raised its HRC offers by €20/mt to €750/mt ex-works, while one Italian supplier has been targeting €760/mt ex-works. European mills are still supported by the lack of supply, although recently there has been news of gradual production increases in the market. For example, Slovakia-based US Steel Košice has restarted its blast furnace No. 3 recently, while ArcelorMittal Italia restarted its blast furnace No. 2 this week. ArcelorMittal is also planning to restart its blast furnace B in Ghent, Belgium, by mid-February, according to market sources.
Currently, producers are still enjoying good order books: in northern Europe they are offering the remaining volumes of their second quarter production or they are sold out, while Italian steelmakers are offering their April-May output.
Meanwhile, import activities have remained reduced due to antidumping duties and the EU safeguard on steel imports, even though some sources believe import activities could increase in the EU market considering the expiration of the EU steel safeguard at the end of June. However, as reported previously by SteelOrbis, 12 EU states, including Germany, Italy, and France, have asked the European Commission to extend the current measures, stating that steel demand has not recovered yet due to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, while stocks in exporting countries have been piling up, which would expose the EU steel industry to risks in the future. At the same time, EUROMETAL, the association of European steel distributors, sent a letter to the European Commission at the end of January saying that the safeguard measures should be revised, but that at the same time the commission should consider the pricing evolution in steel markets in the past 18 months. According to sources, import offers have declined by about €5/mt on average in the past week to €680-690/mt CFR southern Europe from different sources, for late April-May shipments.