European buyers have been reluctant to accept the higher prices now being asked for hot-rolled coil, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday February 5.
Fastmarkets' daily
steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?475.91 ($525.88) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?3.81 per tonne day on day from ?,?479.72 per tonne a day earlier.
The index was based on deals heard at ?,?470-480 per tonne ex-works. Bids for material and "workable" estimates of the price were heard at ?,?460-470 per tonne ex-works.
Despite the decrease, European producers believed that the market trend remained positive and that deals could be concluded at ?,?500 per tonne ex-works soon.
Fastmarkets' daily Northern Europe HRC index has risen by ?,?8.83 per tonne week on week and by ?,?36.74 per tonne since the beginning of January.
At the end of last week and earlier this week, deals were heard at ?,?490...