Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Europe have been supported by a lack of competitive import offers in the market, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday August 1.
Buyers had expected to see a rise in the number of deals done for overseas HRC after the European Commission (EC) set preliminary measures in a safeguard case investigating steel imports.This forecast, however, turned out to be wrong because import offers have remained at levels too high to compete with domestic prices, according to market sources.The EC imposed preliminary measures in its safeguard case on July 18, in the form of tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on 23 steel product categories, based on average import volumes over the past three years. Imports will only face a 25% tariff if a quota is exceeded. Imported HRC is included in the product list.In addition, the non-EU suppliers active in the European market have been limited to vendors in Turkey and India, according to market sources.The...