Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the EU have been largely stable over the past week, with buyers remaining in "wait-and-see" mode, sources have told Metal Bulletin.
European mills have been offering June-production HRC but buyers have held back from booking significant volumes until the market trend becomes clear for the third quarter of the year.In addition, end-users have not fully transferred the achieved price rises in HRC into their finished products prices, according to market sources. So steel distributors are also waiting until end-user sectors reflect current HRC costs in their product prices. This might take about a month to happen, sources said.Despite the slow market activity, European steelmakers are unlikely to decrease prices that...