Import hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have continued to move down in the southern European market, including Spain, in line with the declines seen in global flat steel prices. Despite the decrease, Span’s HRC import market has continued to be mainly in a lull as most buyers believe that prices have not reached their bottom so far. Besides, the problem of exhausted credit lines owing to record-high prices in the past months is still restraining buyers’ ability to purchase.
Accordingly, this week most HRC suppliers have reduced their offers for Spanish importers. More specifically, ex-Japan HRC offers have fallen to around €920-930/mt CFR, down by €30-40/mt over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, ex-South Korea HRC offers have dropped to €890/mt CFR Spain, compared to €910-930/mt CFR at the beginning of this week and €950-970/mt CFR two weeks ago. Meanwhile, offers from Taiwan have been settled at €890-900/mt CFR, and, according to market insiders, several deals for ex-Taiwan coils have been signed at €900/mt CFR through traders in short positions this week. Furthermore, Indian HRC suppliers have decreased their offers by around €80-90/mt over the past two weeks, to €900-930/mt CFR Spain.
At the same time, offers from Turkey have been reported at €920-930/mt CFR Spain, including duty, down by €70-80/mt week on week. Offers from other suppliers, like those from Egypt and Vietnam, have been rare this week, falling to around €920/mt CFR.
In addition, the indicative HRC offers from China have been settled at $930/mt CFR excluding duty, which translated to around €880/mt CFR southern Europe, but, considering the average level of duty at 20 percent, the current ex-China HRC prices are still too high for European buyers.
Meanwhile, local HRC prices in Spain have been voiced at around €1,000-1,100/mt ex-works, compared to €1,120/mt ex-works last week, and most sources expected prices to continue to fall given the influence of import offers in the market.
“There is still room for a further drop in import prices considering the re-routing of trade flows of sanctioned Russian material to Asia, which allows foreign manufacturers to export their own material at a discount into the Spanish market,” a Spain-based trader told SteelOrbis.
