Although sentiment has improved slightly in recent weeks in the EU hot rolled coil (HRC) market, the range of domestic offer prices has remained mainly unchanged, with only slight increases seen in several transactions. However, more and more talk has been circulating in the market this week about a further increase in local HRC prices in late December and the beginning of the first quarter of 2024, to up to €700/mt ex-works. At the same time, foreign HRC suppliers have continued to test the market with higher offers, which has resulted in a number of deals for ex-Turkey and ex-India materials in particular, given their shorter lead times as compared to other Asian suppliers.
Specifically, offers from mills have remained at €650-680/mt ex-works, with the lower end of the range corresponding to prices from Italian mills, while the higher end corresponds to offers in the north. “The EU mills are looking for €650/mt base ex-works minimum. ArcelorMittal is offering at 670/mt base delivered Italy for January, but we heard that in the next round for February delivery materials they will increase quotes to up to €720/mt delivered,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
The tradable price level is still estimated by most distributors at around €645/mt ex-works in northern Europe, the same as last week, though a few transactions have already been reported at €650-660/mt ex-works level. Furthermore, workable prices in Italy have been heard at a minimum of €630-635/mt ex-works, up by €10/mt week on week.
Meanwhile, most foreign HRC suppliers have been trying to increase their offers for the European buyers this week to €615-645/mt CFR, up by €5-25/mt week on week. Besides, according to sources, several suppliers from Turkey have succeeded in new sales to both southern and northern Europe amid their shorter lead times among other suppliers. In particular, one of the Turkish mills is reported to have sold around 30,000 mt in total in a few rounds in the range of $625-655/mt CFR, or €605-633/mt CFR, including duty, for December shipment. Besides, another batch for 12,000 mt of ex-Turkey HRC directly from the mill has been reported at around $695/mt CFR, or €640/mt CFR, including duty.
Furthermore, ex-India HRC bookings for 20,000 mt were concluded by the mills in several lots with the average price working out to around $685-690/mt CFR Antwerp, which translates to around €631-635/mt CFR. Meanwhile, most ex-India HRC offers from mills have been voiced at €640/mt CFR for December shipment, while several offers through traders (including their margin) have been voiced at as high as €680/mt CFR.
