EU HRC: Mill-linked distributors surveying imports

Mill-tied distributors in Europe have been in discussions with third-country hot-rolled coil (HRC) exporters this week over supply concerns.

Enquiries were made to Turkish and Russian sellers, as uncertainty in southern Europe and production cuts across the EU cause supply concerns among some buyers.

There are unconfirmed reports of a CIS mill selling 20,000t to an EU distributor. A re-roller purchased 20,000t from Turkey, with the deal heard at $480-487/t fob and concluded last week.

New offers were made today from India at $500-510/t cfr Italy, while some Turkish mills raised offers to $510/t fob, saying they saw demand at $500/t fob. The lowest offers from Turkey stood at $490/t fob.

But Italian material is available below these levels, albeit with different lead times. Italian mills can supply for January delivery, while many Turkish and CIS producers are now offering mostly from their February-rolling programmes, with some January availability. This indicates buyers anticipate increases to be more pronounced in the domestic market in Italy for February and March deliveries.

One Italian supplier has offered HRC at €443/t cif Black Sea.

There is some activity on the import-side, but European mills are finding it hard to move material ahead of the Christmas holidays.

The Argus daily Italian index increased by €0.50/t today to €424.50/t. The northwest European index nudged up to €430.25/t ex-works.

source: Argus Media