Most European HRC producers have kept testing the market with further price increases given their low availability as, according to market sources, most European mills have declared themselves almost fully booked for March shipment, while inquiries have been increasing in the region. Thus, despite still limited demand from end-users, more price hikes for April shipment HRC are expected in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, import HRC offers have remained stable over the past week, with several deals reported in the southern European market at rather competitive prices.
Accordingly, HRC offers from European mills both in the south and north of the region have been evaluated at €750/mt ex-works, though the tradable price level has been reported at €730/mt ex-works. This means that the price level has increased by €30/mt on average week on week. “We see deal prices at €730/mt ex-works on average in southern Europe, and frankly speaking we have not seen €750/mt ex-works accepted yet, but we are going to reach that level very soon,” a Spanish trader told SteelOrbis.
At the same time, market insiders have reported that most mills in Europe are fully booked for March shipment and most are aiming for another increase to €800/mt ex-works level for April shipment materials. “There are rumors that ArcelorMittal has increased its HRC offers for April to €820/mt level. We do not have any official confirmation, but, although this level seems extremely high, it could be totally true given the current mood in the market,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, most import offers have remained relatively stable as compared to last week, standing at €680-710/mt CFR, depending on the origin. In particular, the lower end of the range corresponds to offers for ex-India and ex-Egypt HRC, which have been voiced in southern Europe at $735-740/mt CFR, or around €680-685/mt CFR. Besides, according to market sources, around 20,000-25,000 mt in total of ex-Egypt HRC have been sold to Italy at €678-680/mt CFR and to Spain at €683-685/mt CFR, up by €10/mt week on week. At the same time, according to some Spanish sources, although most ex-India offers have been heard at $735-740/mt CFR (€680-685/mt CFR), several new offers have already been heard at $770/mt CFR (€710/mt CFR) by the end of the week.
Offers from other Asian suppliers, like those from Japan and South Korea have settled at €705-710/mt CFR Italy and Spain, though some higher offers for ex-Japan HRC have been reported in Spain at €730/mt CFR. No offers have been heard from Vietnam and the new ones are expected to be announced after the Chinese New Year holiday (January 21-27). Meanwhile, offers for ex-Turkey HRC have been heard at a minimum of €740/mt CFR southern Europe, including duty, this week.