Activity in the European hot-rolled coil (HRC) market has been limited over the past week due to high stocks at distributors and poor demand from end users, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 24.
And demand is expected to slow down further in August due to traditional market cycle, with European steelmakers usually scheduling maintenances for the second half of summer and buyers preferring to stay out of the market."The market is very slow now and apparent demand has almost disappeared," a Southern European trader said."Activity is very limited due to the summer holidays [leading to] low demand for offers and thus low order books," a source from the north of the EU said.Despite the lull, some mills in Southern Europe have tested the market with higher offer. However, the new prices have not translated into deals due to the generally weak market. Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Southern Europe, was stable over the week at ?,?440-460 ($492-514) per tonne on July 24.An Italian electric-arc furnace (EAF) operator has been offering the material at ?,?440-450...