European steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices continued to weaken slightly in Europe on Tuesday, April 16, amid persistently slow trading, with further price declines expected due to weak mill order books, according to sources.
In Northern Europe, buyer estimates of the tradable level came in between €620 ($660) and €640 per tonne ex-works. A German mill reportedly sold HRC at €620 per tonne ex-works, but only for a limited tonnage. May deliveries were still available from European mills, indicating weak order books.
Fastmarkets' daily steel HRC index for Northern Europe declined by €8.96 per tonne to €630.00 ($670) per tonne on April 16, down €15.83 per tonne week-on-week and €62.50 per tonne month-on-month.
Near-term price expectations were largely pessimistic among buyers, mainly due to a lack of real demand. A distributor in Germany noted that orders from the automotive sector were around 20% down year-on-year, with no signs of a rebound until the end of 2024. A steel service center source said producers were prioritizing volumes over prices to fill their order books for the second quarter.
Despite discussions about production cuts being the only way to stop the downtrend, European mills were not announcing any immediate equipment stoppages. However, several sources said that one Central European supplier had stopped one blast furnace in the first half of April.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets' daily steel HRC index for Italy declined by €0.42 per tonne to €622.08 per tonne on Tuesday, down €9.17 per tonne week-on-week and €49.59 per tonne month-on-month. Activity in the Italian market has also been subdued, with slow demand continuing to put pressure on prices.
Official offers for May delivery HRC from a local supplier were reported at €640 per tonne delivered, which nets back to €630 per tonne ex-works. However, buyers estimated achievable prices at no higher than €615-620 per tonne ex-works. No fresh import offers were reported, with Asian mills maintaining their HRC offers at €580-590 per tonne CFR for July-August arrivals.
