Hot rolled coil prices in Northern Europe remained flat, driven by the recovery in demand and the effects of production cuts in Europe.
According to S&P Global Commodity Insights data, Platts evaluated HRC in Northern Europe on a daily basis at the Ruhr 855/mt ex-works level on 15 July.
Offers for small tonnages and affordable prices were heard at Eur850-860/mt Ruhr ex-works. It is reported that a Northern European producer has increased its HRC offers to Eur900/mt ex-works.
Steel mills in the region are expected to submit higher offers soon. A steelmaker from Northern Europe reported that it has increased its HRC offers to Eur 900/mt ex-works, with an increase of around EUR 50/mt compared to previous prices.
Some sources believe that the transaction prices of coils will rise to this offer level in September, when more buyers return to look for orders.
“I think we will see HRC prices rise to EUR 900/mt Northern Europe in September,” a northern European distributor said. “The strong dollar makes imported steel more expensive, so there is no competition anymore. And mills face challenges associated with high energy costs and potential disruptions to gas supply.”
Meanwhile, trading activity is slowly picking up as more distributors look for material to restock, sources said. Some market participants believe that buyers should restock by the end of July, otherwise steelmakers will have a hard time gaining volume in the fall due to the effects of longer maintenance and equipment shutdowns. ArcelorMittal in France, HBIS Serbia in Italy, Acciaierie d'Italia and Arvedi confirmed that the furnaces were discontinued, and other producers were planning longer summer maintenances to reduce supply and support local prices.
"We are seeing some stability in the market at the moment and this, combined with the production cuts, will hopefully give prices an opportunity to recover," a European trader said. said. “Demand is uneven, some buyers have floor-to-roof stocks and even coil stocks outside, but others have medium stocks and now need to plan to restock in September to avoid long lead times and high prices if they delay purchases.”
In Southern Europe, HRC was valued at 785/mt ex-Italy on July 15, up 5 euros per day.
Offers for minor tonnages were heard in Italy at EUR 800/mt ex-works. Official offers are reported as EUR 800-820/mt ex-works in Italy, while buyers estimate the tradable value at EUR 750-800/mt ex-works in Italy.
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