Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were expected to rise due to restocking activity and lower availability in the spot market, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 27.
Fastmarkets' latest weekly price assessment for
steel HRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?420-425 ($463-468) per tonne on November 27, unchanged over the week.
The assessment was based on the latest deals and "workable" prices heard in the middle of the week.
Earlier this week, some German producers were offering HRC at ?,?410-415 per tonne ex-works, but market participants believed that such prices were no longer available from integrated mills. Northern European re-rollers or producers in Italy, however, were still able to trade HRC at these prices.
In the meantime, Northern European steelmakers have been looking for price rises of about ?,?20-30 per tonne, targeting ?,?435-450 per tonne ex-works, according to market sources.
Although the intentions of the steelmakers have been widely discussed in the market over the past week, few plants have sent new offers to their buyers, market participants...