European buyers expected steelmakers to announce domestic price increases because they have good order books at a time of tight supply, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 21.
Prices have either been stable or have moved slightly upward over the past week with buyers taking a watchful stance, according to market participants.
"The market is a bit quiet at the moment, because many are in 'wait-and-see' mode and mills are not too hungry for orders," a Northern European trader said. "Still, prices are slowly moving up."
Fastmarkets calculated its daily
steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?497.50 ($587.19) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?,?1 per tonne from ?,?496.50 per tonne on October 20.
The index was up by ?,?2.50 per tonne week on week and by ?,?12.55 per tonne month on month.
Wednesday's index was based on deals and achievable prices heard at ?,?490-500 per tonne.
Some of the region's steelmakers have been offering HRC at...