Although European producers have continued to keep their offers stable at high levels, the tradable level has been trending down in the EU, as transaction activities have remained scarce amid weak demand and high levels of stocks. Besides, new import HRC offers have kept decreasing, putting additional pressure on local quotes.
Accordingly, the general range in the EU HRC market has slightly dropped to €635-680/mt ex-works, from €650-700/mt ex-works last week. More specifically, the tradable level estimated by Italian mills has settled at €640-660/mt delivered, which translates to around €635-655/mt ex-works, down by €15/mt week on week. “Although some mills are still trying to maintain their offers high at €670-700/mt ex-works, the workable level does not exceed the €650/mt level,” a market insider said. In northern Europe, local HRC prices have settled at around €650-680/mt ex-works, the same as last week, though some buyers are still giving lower indications at €630-650/mt ex-works.
“Apart from slow demand and high inventories, another problem is the unclear price trend. We just cannot say what is expecting the market given no buying activity,” a market insider said.
Meanwhile, import HRC offers in southern Europe have maintained their downtrend this week, falling by €20-30/mt week on week to €600-630/mt CFR. Asian suppliers, like those from Japan and Taiwan, have continued to be the most competitive in the EU market, with offers coming at €600-610/mt CFR Italy, and at €610-620/mt Spain. Offers for ex-Vietnam HRC have also been voiced at €610/mt CFR southern Europe, while suppliers from India have been offering their boron-added HRC at €620-630/mt CFR Spain. According to some traders, several offers for ex-Turkey have been voiced at around €630/mt CFR Italy, including duty. “Service centers and distributors have still been refraining from new purchases, trying to sell their expensive stocks of HRC, so only occasional deals were done,” an Italian trader told SteelOrbis.
