The uptrend of hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in Europe has continued this week, though with more hikes reported in northern Europe, given the increasing demand and continuous bullishness mounting globally. Mills in the south of Europe, however, have been more cautious in terms of further hikes, while import HRC prices have increased again in a few new deals.
This week, official HRC prices from mills have settled at €800-860/mt ex-works, versus €800-850/mt last week, with the lower end of the range corresponding to offers in the south and the higher end to offers in the north of Europe. More specifically, Italian mills have kept offering their HRC for May at €800-820/mt ex-works, while prices for June delivery coils have increased to €830-850/mt ex-works. Meanwhile, producers in the north of Europe have settled their prices at €850-860/mt ex-works, up by €10-20/mt week on week. At the same time, this week the European market is actively discussing the new price hike by ArcelorMittal to €870/mt ex-works for June delivery materials, up by around €20-40/mt compared to previous prices. However, this information has not been officially confirmed by the producer by the time of publication.
Meanwhile, this week market insiders have reported another increase in import HRC prices in southern Europe. In particular, import quotes have been reported at €770-810/mt CFR, up by €10-15/mt over the past week. Suppliers from India have increased their prices to €780/mt CFR Italy, and €785-790/mt CFR Spain, versus €770-780/mt CFR last week, and, according to sources, a deal for around 20,000 mt of ex-India materials has been concluded to northern Europe at $830/mt CFR (which translates to around €782/mt CFR). Furthermore, according to buyers in Spain, several bookings for ex-Japan and ex-South Korea HRC have been reported at €785 CFR this week, while new offers have been reported at as high as $850/mt CFR, or €800/mt CFR. Meanwhile, offers from Vietnam have been reported at $750/mt FOB, which corresponds to around €770/mt CFR, according to sources.
Besides, offers for ex-Egypt HRC have been voiced at as high as $860/mt CFR Spain, or around €810/mt CFR, up by €10/mt week on week. Meanwhile, Turkish suppliers have been staying out of the European market, with indicative offers estimated at a minimum of €800/mt CFR Italy.