Sentiment in the European hot-rolled coil market was becoming increasingly gloomy, reflecting the deterioration in demand from the automotive sector, and with prices in the north of the region sliding on Friday September 10, sources have told Fastmarkets.
The automotive sector in Europe was reported to be working at reduced rates because of the global shortage of semiconductor chips for onboard electronics. Consequently, market sources expected the industry to consume less HRC.There was a market rumor that one major steelmaker in Northern Europe had already redirected some HRC volumes to the spot market,...