EUROPE HRC: Buyers target lower prices despite persistent shortage

European buyers were insisting on lower domestic prices for hot-rolled coil although the availability of the material remained short, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 5.

Buyers were reluctant to continue paying high prices for coil, and have been limiting their purchases in terms of both number and volumes, market sources said.
Long lead times from domestic producers, sufficient stocks among buyers for the next couple of months, and exhausted credit lines as a result of high prices for finished steel, have all contributed to buyers' decisions to take a break from making new deals.

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