Sources said that many European mills have reduced their output or are assessing the benefits of reducing their output in a bid to cut production costs amid continued weakness in the flat steel market.
The local daily index for hot-rolled coil sheet excluding Northern Europe rose €2.09 to €631.88 ($672.54) per tonne on Monday from €629.79 per tonne on Friday (September 22).
The index decreased by €5.62 per tonne on a weekly basis and by €11.87 per tonne on a monthly basis.
Weak demand from major end-use sectors, combined with an imbalance in supply-demand dynamics, led to minimal market activity in European HRC prices.
Market participants said they expect restocking activities to resume in early October.
Producers may start production cuts to rebalance the market, sources said.
In Northern Europe, buyer estimates for HRC were reported around €615-630 per tonne ex-works.
Producer forecasts for the week to September 22 were assessed at around €630-650 per tonne ex-works in the region.
Meanwhile, the local hot rolled coil index for Italy was calculated at €621.67 per tonne on Monday, up only €3.13 from €618.54 per tonne on Friday.
The Italian index decreased by €4.58 per tonne on a weekly basis and €13.55 per tonne on a monthly basis.
In Italy, buyers' views on the asking price for HRC were generally no higher than €620-630 per tonne ex-works.
According to sources, mills are offering HRC for November delivery.
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