European hot rolled coil prices fell on Thursday (April 28th) as market participants became increasingly convinced that there would be a significant drop in the market. Fastmarkets calculated the local, non-North European daily HRC index of €1,270.56 ($1,345.59) per ton on April 28, down €28.61 from €1,299.17 per ton on Wednesday.
It is heard that some mills are offering HRC at €1,300 per ton exw, while some offers are said to be as low as €1,280 per ton exw. However, most buyers were willing to pay close to €1,200 per tonne exw.
Fastmarkets calculated the local, Italy exw corresponding daily steel HRC index at € 1,216.67 per ton on Thursday, down € 19.33 per ton from € 1,236.00 on April 27.
The index was based on offers of €1,250 per tonne exw and offers and estimates of €1,200 per tonne exw.
Trade remained weak in both regions as buyers took a wait-and-see approach. End-user demand was slow and inventory levels were high enough to give buyers flexibility in purchasing.
“[Recently] there have been no deals because we don't need to buy anything,” a northern European distributor told Fastmarkets. "Stocks are so high we don't need to buy anything for at least the next two or three weeks."
European hot rolled coil prices fell on Thursday (April 28th) as market participants became increasingly convinced that there would be a significant drop in the market. Fastmarkets calculated the local, non-North European daily HRC index of €1,270.56 ($1,345.59) per ton on April 28, down €28.61 from €1,299.17 per ton on Wednesday.
It is heard that some mills are offering HRC at €1,300 per ton exw, while some offers are said to be as low as €1,280 per ton exw. However, most buyers were willing to pay close to €1,200 per tonne exw.
Fastmarkets calculated the local, Italy exw corresponding daily steel HRC index at € 1,216.67 per ton on Thursday, down € 19.33 per ton from € 1,236.00 on April 27.
The index was based on offers of €1,250 per tonne exw and offers and estimates of €1,200 per tonne exw.
Trade remained weak in both regions as buyers took a wait-and-see approach. End-user demand was slow and inventory levels were high enough to give buyers flexibility in purchasing.
“[Recently] there have been no deals because we don't need to buy anything,” a northern European distributor told Fastmarkets. "Stocks are so high we don't need to buy anything for at least the next two or three weeks."
In addition to the slowdown in core consumption, buyers were also aware that producers were under pressure to lower prices, adding to the lack of fast buying interest.
Conversely, sources warned that uncertainty over energy and raw material costs could dampen producers' desire to cut prices, especially after Russia halted gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria this week.
However, producers faced an oversupply problem, and buyer-side sources suggested they were looking for options to address it without lowering local prices.
A distributor reported rumors that mills are slowing production rates, while anther discussed the idea that mills could seek export material, albeit at prices significantly lower than local levels. However, higher freight rates will put even more pressure on prices.
Competitively priced imports offered buyers another option, although long lead times made this an impractical alternative.
Material from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan is reportedly available between €1,000-1,050 per tonne cfr Italy, but with September delivery times. This compared to early third quarter for domestic material.
Offers from India were heard between €1,000-1,030 per tonne cfr Northern Europe.
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