Hot rolled coil (HRC) prices are still on an uptrend in the EU domestic market, on the back of a shortage of material both locally and from foreign sources, and this situation is expected to persist in the coming weeks and even months, unless production increases appreciably. As reported previously, on January 8 ArcelorMittal hiked its offers by €30/mt for HRC to €730/mt ex-works for all Europe. Other EU mills then started offering the same material at or slightly below the same level. For instance, Italian steelmaker Arvedi is offering HRC at €700-730/mt ex-works depending on volumes.
The traditional gap between coil prices in northern Europe and in southern Europe had already begun to shrink in late 2020, but now it is virtually non-existent, sources have underlined. The latest transaction prices in the EU market have been around €690-700/mt ex-works this week, i.e., up about €25/mt compared to early January, and up €100/mt month on month, which is the fastest increase in years.
Meanwhile, import offers have remained scarce and at high prices due to EU steel safeguard and antidumping duties. According to one trader, an ex-Turkey HRC offer this week was made at $800/mt FOB for March shipment. Meanwhile, sources have reported an ex-China HRC sale to a European company at the very low price of $680-690/mt FOB. This was possible without the imposition of duties because the material is intended to be sold outside the EU market. However, the appearance of low-priced offers from China has already caused great panic in the Turkish market, and they may impact the EU market negatively as well in the future if the gap between domestic and import offers widens further.