HRC prices in the EU domestic market have continued to trend sideways in the past week at €700-720/mt ex-works. However, local producers in the past few weeks have been asking for €730-750/mt ex-works for shipments from April onwards, as they have remained bullish on the back of their strong order books. As reported previously, though, buying activities have slowed down recently as buyers began to anticipate price decreases due to declines in global raw material and finished steel prices. Moreover, the number of import offers in the EU has increased recently, while the general level of offer prices has decreased. Offers are coming from non-traditional suppliers from Asia (Indonesia, Taiwan) at €665-670/mt CFR for April-May shipments. According to sources, one Italian buyer bought ex-India HRC at €640/mt CFR with shipment in May, although this was considered an exception owing to the special relationship between the two parties involved. Meanwhile, ex-Turkey HRC sales were closed last week to the EU at €620-630/mt CFR, provisional antidumping duty excluded. Ex-Egypt offers are at €670-685/mt CFR Italy with shipment in April, but these are hardly workable considering there are more attractive prices in the market. Finally, recently Russia's Severstal closed sales for around 25,000 mt of its March production at $745-765/mt FOB to various EU countries. This price is the equivalent of about €635-655/mt CFR base.
Meanwhile, sources have said that the European Commission is expected to launch a review of its safeguard measures in the coming weeks, in view of their expiration at the end of June this year. Previously, 12 EU states asked the commission to extend the current measures considering both the fact that demand has not recovered yet due to the consequences of Covid-19 and the fact that Section 232 tariffs are still in place in the US despite the change of administration. According to some sources, though, an extension of the safeguard would infringe WTO rules. It is noteworthy that the European Commission in mid-January initiated a review of AD measures against imports of HRC from Russian producer Severstal, while earlier this year the commission imposed provisional AD duties on ex-Turkey HRC. Instead of extending the current safeguard, the commission may decide to protect the domestic steel industry by imposing other specific antidumping or anti-subsidy measures.