Hot Rolled Coil Prices Are Stable in The North European Market

Germany: In the Northern European market, domestic prices for Hot-Rolled Coil remained stable, backed by demand revival and the effects of production curtailment across Europe. According to Northern European traders, Hot Rolled Coil prices will soar in September as more buyers will return to the market looking for quotation bookings. However, because of a stronger dollar, importing steel is more expensive, and there is no competition. Furthermore, the mills confront challenges due to high energy costs and the possibility of a gas supply disruption. Meanwhile, trading activity has slowly recovered as more distributors look for material to restock. Some market participants believe buyers will need to stockpile inventory by the end of July. Otherwise, due to the effects of more prolonged maintenance bottlenecks by Steel manufacturers and equipment stoppages, they would struggle to get volumes in autumn.

ArcelorMittal in France, HBIS Serbia, Acciaierie d'Italia, and Arvedi, both in Italy, confirmed furnace shutdowns, and other manufacturers planned longer summer maintenance to reduce supply and support domestic prices. According to market participants, no one is buying right now, so many dispersed offers are fictitious. Slowed demand and down outsell price will not improve until stocks fall. UK stockholders were heard as being focused on depleting high stock levels, which was made more difficult by the UK market's poor demand. End-user demand to distributors was down by 20%-30%, with similar drops in import interest, implying that traders struggled to fill vessels. In the UK market, the sentiment was mixed, though more negative than in Europe, where Hot Rolled Coil prices have stabilized at around USD 845-855/MT for Ex-Ruhr, with demand expected to pick up in the coming weeks.

Market participants have noticed some stability in the market, which, combined with production cuts, allows prices to recover. Demand is uneven; some buyers have overloaded stocks, while others have medium stocks and must plan their September restocking now to avoid long lead times and high prices if they delay purchases. As a ripple effect of the improved demand, ChemAnalyst anticipates that Hot Rolled Coil prices will rise further in the coming months.