coils prices in Europe

German coils bottom out amid slow demand, cheap imports

Western Europe / flat Products

declining import prices and slow buying activity pushed coils prices in Germany to a new low in September. Some insiders believe that prices are already at bottom and will be rolled over in Q4, while others expect a further drop towards the end of the year.Weakening automotive industry and a slowdown in other key consuming industries, including machinery, is weighing on the already depressed coils market in Germany. distributors and SSCs complain about a 20-30% orders slowdown from the auto- motive sector in particular. The situation with stocks level improved as traders were generally buying less over the last few months, but trading activity did not improve as buyers preferred to keep inventories low and only acquire small tonnages for the current needs. “Basically the 2019 is gone from orders point of view and due to the fact that distributors and SSCs will start year end preparation in coming weeks, they have to “clean up” their stocks, as a consequence I expect further price de- creases,”.Transaction prices for coils in Germany dropped by some EUR 10/t over two weeks, however in some special cases the deals were closed at even a lower level. “There were deals for HRC at below EUR 455/t [base, EXW]. The situation with   lead-times is also like that. Officially for HRC it’s around 6-7 weeks, but when it comes to a deal, you can get an order faster than that,” a German distributor told Metal Expert.Offers from overseas suppliers kept sliding. Turkish and Indian suppliers lowered their offered prices by EUR 10-15/t over the reviewed period. “deals are being se- cured at even lower levels. A Turkish mill sold HRC to Italy at EUR 420/t CFR this week, and I guess it’s not the bottom yet,” another source    said.

Germany:  September Prices for Coils, EUR/t

(WITHOUT 19% VAT,  EUR 1 = $1.11)

Coils to dip in price in Italy in October on import pressure

South Europe / flat Products

Import coils prices in Italy keep decreasing rapidly in the second half of September dragging down domestic tags. Even though local prices have not decreased as sharply as imports yet there is a strong expectation that they will drop significantly in the coming weeks.deal prices for coils from most Italian mills declined by EUR 5/t to EUR 430-440/t EXW for HRC and EUR 515-520/t EXW for CRC and HDG, base, over two weeks. Meantime, the offers are at least EUR 15-20/t higher, but mills are unable to reach a desirable level given low business activity and decreasing imports. “All the pressure is coming from import and nowadays European mills are still trying to manage the situation without pushing down offer prices,” a local buyer told Metal Expert. However, some sources find further downtrend inevitable in Italy and expect a sharp drop in the coming weeks.Buying has been slow in September on a steady slowdown of the consuming industries. In addition to the automotive sector, general industry, machinery, general and electrical equipment segments also started to weaken three months ago. “As there is no clear picture of what will be in the coming months in terms of orders, nobody [distributors, end-users] is willing to take position and buy [from steel mills], so they just wait. And seeing prices going down makes buyers to wait more,”.“Market demand has decreased 20% in the usually best month of the year [September],” another source said.decreasing imports become another major factor that is dragging Italian coils  prices down. The most competitive in HRC are Turkish and Indian suppliers. They are offering to Italy minimum at EUR 430/t CFR but transactions have been mainly heard at EUR 420-430/t CFR in the second half of September. Meantime, market sources report that major Italian buyers have closed deals with an Indian supplier at a EUR 10/t lower level. In general, demand for imported coils is also limited in Italy on overall negative sentiments in HRC segment. “Only big customers are buying or those who can’t wait any longer,” a local trader said.

Italy:  Offer  Prices  for  Coils,  EUR/t

(WITHOUT 22% VAT;  EUR 1 =  $1.11)

HRC,  S235JR              local producers, EXW                    October                 430-440*                 2×1,100-1,549                    453-463*               5

CRC,  dC01                   local producers, EXW                    October                  515-520*                 1×1,100-1,649                        530-535*               5

HdG,   dX51d               local  producers,  EXW                  October                  515-520*   0.55-0.59×1,100-1,299, Z140           626-631*               5

Import offers

HRC                              India,  CFR                           October-November                –                              2 mm                           420*-430         –5/-15 HRC                    Turkey,   CFR                        October-November                –                              2 mm                           420*-430         –10/-15 HRC                     Russia,   CFR                               November                       –                              2 mm                           400**                                                    n/a CRC                                 India,  CFR                              October-November                                     –                       1 mm                              490-500                                       10

CRC                              Taiwan,   CFR                      October-November                –                              1 mm                            500-510             n/a

* – workable  level

** – is subject to 17,6  EUR/t    duty

Spanish coils prices down in September

South Europe / flat Products

The Spanish producer decreased coils offered prices in the second half of September driven by weak local demand and import competition. Expectations remain negative.Spanish coils customers are refraining from purchases of large tonnages, expecting prices to go further down and considering overall negative sentiments in the market. Offer prices decreased by EUR 10-20/t over two weeks depending on the product, coming to EUR 480/t DDP for HRC, EUR 550/t DDP for CRC and EUR 560/t DDP for HDG, base. “But the supplier is open to negotiate down by EUR 10/t,” a local buyer told Metal Expert. Indeed, an HRC deal was closed this week at EUR 470/t  DDP,   base.Apart from low demand, the Spanish supplier is struggling to maintain prices at the desired level amid competitive offers both from Europe and third countries. Particularly, an offer from a German supplier to Spain was heard at EUR 450/t CFR, base.Among foreign suppliers, India and Turkey are the most competitive. Exporters from these countries are targeting minimum EUR 430/t CFR, but a workable lev- el is mainly at EUR 420-430/t CFR. However, a deal with an Indian supplier was closed at EUR 415/t CFR and an offer from a Turkish mill was heard at the same level this week. Besides, a deal for CRC with an Indian supplier was closed at EUR   495/t CFR.In this situation, a further price decrease is expected. “If mills want to sell they have to adjust prices respectively to market conditions,” a local buyer told Metal Expert.

Spain:  Offer  Prices  for  Coils  IN  September,  EUR/t

(WITHOUT 21% VAT,  EUR 1 = $1.11)

Taiwan, Japan,

Korea,   CFR                        October-November                –                                  1                                500-505              n/a

HdG                               Turkey,  CFR                               November                                               0.57mm, Z140                         590              –20-25

* – workable level/deal  price