This week very little trade has been seen in the hot rolled coil (HRC) segment in Europe as demand has remained sluggish while the high stocks of service centers mean they have been buying “only the bare minimum”, being covered until January-February 2025. Thus, local prices from European mills have remained relatively stable over the past week, especially for coils for December delivery, though some bullishness has been reported for offers for January delivery.
More specifically, offers from mills in northern Europe have been voiced at €570-580/mt ex-works for December deliveries, though, according to sources, producers are targeting higher prices at €580-600/mt ex-works for January deliveries. At the same time, trade activity has remained limited with several deals still voiced at €550-560/mt ex-works levels, the same as last week.
Meanwhile, offers from mills in Italy have been at €570/mt ex-works, up by €20/mt over the past two weeks, mainly for December delivery, though tradable prices have been voiced at €550/mt ex-works, against €540/mt ex-works last week. “There will likely be a new round of purchases and restocking around mid-November,” a market insider said, adding, “In terms of price, there shouldn’t be any changes in the coming weeks, with some improvement likely to seen in December, for February shipment coils."
At the same time, some market insiders foresee a possible restocking being more limited than in previous years around mid-November, followed by a price recovery by the end of November and December.
In the import segment, trade activity has remained sluggish, while most import prices have moved sideways or up slightly in a few offers. Offers for ex-Asia HRC have been voiced at €555-575/mt CFR, mainly the same as last week. Offers for ex-India HRC have been heard at $600-630/mt CFR, which translates to around €555-575/mt CFR, though no fresh deals have been reported so far as, according to sources, “It seems that no one is interested in purchasing HRC from Vietnam, Japan, India and Egypt due to antidumping risks." Meanwhile, offers from Vietnam have been heard at around €575/mt CFR. Suppliers from Taiwan are reported to be offering their HRC at €575/mt CFR, while bids have been voiced at €540/mt CFR and have been rejected so far, according to sources.
Offers for ex-Turkey HRC have settled at €590-610/mt CFR, including duty, against €580-590/mt CFR two weeks ago.
