Improved sentiment has taken hold in the European hot-rolled coil market, but so far domestic prices have recovered only in Italy while those in the the North of the region remain largely unchanged, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 20.
Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?420-425 ($465-471) per tonne on November 20, unchanged over the week.The assessment reflected average deals and "workable" prices heard in the market. Although sources said that some mills were ready to trade at ?,?415 per tonne ex-works with some customers, such a price was unlikely to be widely attainable in the near future.There were questions in the market about whether steelmakers were targeting a price of ?,?450 per tonne ex-works, and it was likely that the next round...