Following the price hikes seen in the local market in Europe previously, domestic HRC prices in the region have stabilized this week. At the same time, most European mills are still positive in terms of the future price trend, emphasizing their good order books even though end-user demand has remained rather moderate. In the import segment, trade activity has remained limited due to concerns over the quota situation, with fresh deals mainly reported for ex-India HRC.
Specifically, while mills in northern Europe have continued to voice their target price for HRC at €800/mt ex-works, buyers in the region have estimated the tradable levels at around €740-750/mt ex-works, the same as last week, with a few transactions reported to have been done at abovementioned levels. Meanwhile, offers from mills in Italy have been heard at around €745-755/mt ex-works, against €750/mt ex-works last week, while the workable price level has been assessed at €735/mt ex-works on average this week.
“Trade activity is moderate in the region with most deals reported for small tonnages, just to cover needs. Buyers are still cautious, waiting to see how long this increase driven by supply will actually last, but at the same time they [buyers] don’t have so many options,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, foreign HRC suppliers have been trying to increase their offers to European buyers this week, with most offers through traders reported at around €670-730/mt CFR. More specifically, following numerous deals for around 100,000 mt in total for ex-India HRC signed at around $700 CFR (€645/mt) on average mainly to southern Europe last week, this week more deals have been reported in northern Europe at €680 CFR. “It seems high, but Indian sellers claim higher offers are more than acceptable,” an international trader said. Meanwhile, market insiders have been actively discussing ex-Turkey bookings this week, though no official confirmation has been provided by the time of publication. According to some sources, a deal for ex-Turkey HRC has been done at €690/mt CFR duty paid, while other sources reported sales at €690/mt CFR, but excluding duty. At the same time, ex-Turkey HRC offers have been estimated by Italian customers at around €730/mt CFR duty paid, up by €40/mt week on week.
Furthermore, offers for ex-Asia HRC through traders, including 90-day deferred payment in particular, have been estimated at €670-700/mt CFR. The lower end of the range corresponds to ex-Vietnam offers at €670/mt CFR, up by €10/mt over the past week, while offers for ex-Japan and ex-South Korea HRC have been estimated at €680/mt CFR and €700/mt CFR, respectively. According to sources, some offers for ex-Taiwan HRC directly ex-mill are still voiced at a lower level or €655/mt CFR, but no fresh deals have been reported so far, given the high risks related to the “other countries” safeguard quota.