Negative sentiment is prevailing among European buyers of hot-rolled coil, but mills managed to keep prices fairly stable in Italy and Northern Europe on Wednesday September 15, sources told Fastmarkets.
Reduced demand from the automotive sector and cheap import material booked earlier this year that has arrived in the European Union and is awaiting customs clearance have been supporting the bearish mood. New import offers have been competitive, but buyers have been concerned that HRC imports from India, Turkey and Russia might be subject to safeguard duties of up to 25% upon arrival.In addition, some producers have been trading limited volumes of coil not used by automakers with selected customers at low prices. Despite limited availability of such cheap material, news about these deals has contributed to the...