Prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) in the EU have been largely stable over the past week with buyers holding back from deals, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday July 4.
The market was expected to remain in wait-and-see mode until the announcement of a preliminary decision in a regional safeguard investigation.The European Commission opened an investigation into 26 steel products in late March, in an attempt to prevent steel shipments being redirected to the EU market as a result of the United States imposing its Section 232 import tariffs. Imported HRC is among the products included in the trade case.The European authorities are expected to announce preliminary safeguarding measures on steel imports early this month."The mills are trying to increase prices because they expect that...