In Western Europe, hot-rolled steel prices increased by €10/t (1.3%) compared to the previous week, following weeks of quietness, reaching €730-760/t EXW on an overall basis. SteelRadar calculated a total increase of 8.6% since the beginning of the current year.
SteelRadar's sources forecasted higher prices for hot-rolled steel products, while highlighting the insufficiency of demand in the market and the fact that quotas have almost reached the limit for the first quarter. Local ex-mill lead times have already reached March-April, they added.
In Northwest Europe, rebar prices increased by €15/mt last week and reached €635/mt ex-works, as the market reportedly expects higher prices, while production capacities are expected to increase by the end of January.
Netherlands
HMS 1/2 80:20 in the Netherlands increased by USD 5 during the week of January 18, up from USD 389 during the week of January 18, SteelRadar analysis revealed.
HMS 1/2 80:20, which traded at USD 394, dropped throughout the week and traded at USD 383 on January 25, while market sources expect these decreases will not continue and will follow a steady path.
Italy
In Italy, HRC [EN 10025 (S235JR) grade] was mainly in the range of €720-745 for the last weeks of January, while CRC was recorded in the range of €790-860, maintaining the price differential.
Italy's stainless flat steel market remained stable in the first month of the year. Facilities and rolling mills are expecting unfavorable results for end product sales, while SteelRadar does not expect consumption to improve in the first quarter.
Distributors in Italy have moderate stocks of coil, leading to minimal purchases, while service centers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the prices of hot and cold rolled coil, market sources were reported as saying. A decrease of €30-50 ($32-50) per ton is expected in the upcoming weeks, they noted.
Benelux
HMS 80:20, started each week with an increase since January, and changed by $2 on January 22.
SteelRadar spotted a price of 335 USD for HMS 80:20 on January 25.
Germany
The steel industry in Germany was not significantly affected in terms of supply after the Red Sea situation. In 2023, steel producers reduced their production by 3.9% to 35.44 million tons. Crude steel production in the country was reported to have dropped to 2.6 million tons at the end of last year, while pig iron production was reported at 1.94 million tons.
Price fluctuations were seen in iron ore on a weekly basis in Germany, as SteelRadar recorded the iron ore price at €124.42 on January 24.
Rebar [12-32mm] was stable higher at €635, starting the week at €665.
Poland
The rebar market in Poland continues to be on an upward trend, but the general situation remained unfavorable due to weak trading activity. Polish steel mills' local offer prices for rebar [12-32 mm] are currently ranging between EUR 655-666/t CPT, up from EUR 635/t CPT at the end of December.
United Kingdom
According to SteelRadar sources, UK wire mesh prices started the week with a decrease of $3 but showed a stable upward trend.
On January 24, the wire mesh price was traded at $613 USD.
Spain
The downturn continues in Spain, which started the new year with stable prices.
For 12-32 mm rebar, SteelRadar recorded EUR 595, while CRC [EN 10130] maintained at €800 and HRC [EN 10025] at €710.
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