European stainless steel coils price increases:

According to sources cited by Kallanish, European prices for stainless cold rolled coil are on the rise, driven by increased values attributed to high processing costs and the influence of raw materials.

For May delivery, mills across Europe are quoting prices ranging from €2,580-2,600/tonne ($2,809-2,831) for stainless CRC, although transactions at these rates have yet to materialize.

Italian contracts are averaging €2,480-2,500/t, while European CRC is reportedly priced at €2,500-2,530/t upon delivery.

Reports from re-rollers and service centers in Italy indicate a hike in sheet and tube prices, albeit within a segmented market.

Both Italian and northern EU sources highlight sluggish downstream consumption, with major end-users purchasing only limited quantities.

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Despite this, stainless HRC prices in Italy remain subdued due to imported materials from Asian markets, with domestic prices hovering between €2,250-2,300/t delivered, while Asian imports are acquired at €1,900/t cfr.

Although there’s a notable uptick in coil demand and prices, suppliers are encountering resistance in passing on increases to sheet and other coil derivatives.

Two service center sources express skepticism regarding the success of the latest coil price adjustments for May delivery, citing weak downstream demand and steelmakers’ reluctance to halt production.

Customers are reportedly offered short lead times and are not under pressure to make purchases.

Buyers of hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Europe are staying silent, anticipating further declines in prices:

In the European hot-rolled coil market on Friday, March 1, slow trading persisted, characterized by predominantly hand-to-mouth bookings for small tonnages as market participants anticipated further price declines, sources informed Fastmarkets.

Buyers chose to remain on the sidelines, expecting the downward trend observed in February to extend into March.

Lead times remained short at European steel producers, prompting buyers to postpone restocking activities.

A buyer in Germany mentioned, “Mills can deliver HRC in about six to eight weeks, so there’s no rush from our side. It seems there is still room for a price correction.”

Offers from integrated mills in Northern Europe were consistently reported at €730-750 ($790-812) per tonne ex-works, with a re-roller in the region offering at €690-700 per tonne ex-works.

Buyer estimates for the workable price in the spot market ranged from €700-720 per tonne ex-works on Friday.

Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at €715.50 per tonne on Friday, down by €2 per tonne from €717.50 per tonne on Thursday.

The index witnessed a decrease of €6.63 per tonne week on week and €46.50 per tonne month on month.

Sources highlighted to Fastmarkets the necessity of output cuts to rebalance the market due to the absence of any prospect of a rebound in end-user demand.

“Mills receive no orders, but they still have order books to fill for the second quarter. They cannot be super flexible with prices because costs are already starting to bite at €700 per tonne ex-works. So, adjusting output would be the logical next step,” a buyer in the Benelux area noted.

However, mills had made no official announcements by the end of the week.

In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets’ corresponding daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Italy, stood at €707.92 per tonne on Friday, down by €4.58 per tonne day on day from €712.50 per tonne.

The index saw a decline of €7.08 per tonne week on week and €47.58 per tonne month on month.

Local suppliers in Italy lowered their domestic offers in the spot market to around €720 per tonne delivered (€705-710 per tonne ex-works) in the week to March 1, according to sources.

Moreover, additional discounts of up to €10-15 per tonne were deemed possible for larger tonnages, as per some market participants’ insights.

“There were reports of HRC offers below €700 per tonne ex-works from domestic HRC producers, but it is not a flat offer price for the spot market; rather, it is for big steel manufacturer, steel service centers and tube makers,” a source in the Italian market highlighted.

In the import market, a substantial deal for Vietnam-origin HRC, amounting to around €585 per tonne CFR, was noted. While the cargo composition remained unclear, several sources suggested it was a mix of HRC and steel slab.

This price from Vietnam was considered viable only for large cargoes, with other offers from Asian suppliers, notably from Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan, hovering around €610-620 per tonne CFR.

“There are some big buyers in Italy that typically rely on imports and always book HRC cargoes from overseas suppliers; this is their business model. For the rest of the market, demand for import HRC remains low,” a buyer in Italy emphasized.

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