ArcelorMittal, one of the leaders in the European steel market, has raised prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) in Northern Europe to €700 per tonne. The previous rate of the manufacturer was €680/ton. This was reported by ArgusMeda.
The company explains the price revision by the growth in demand and the number of bookings, which intensified after the revision of European measures to protect the steel market. This was most noticeable in the HRC segment in northern Europe, as well as in cold-rolled and galvanized steel across the region.
European steel mills are in no hurry to sell products as they face low capacity utilization and difficulties in fulfilling deliveries due to production delays. At the same time, steel imports to the EU are expected to decline in the coming months due to new anti-dumping duties on supplies from Egypt, Japan and Vietnam.
On the futures market today, the quarterly HRC contract was trading at €670/t, almost the same as the close on March 31. The physical market remains relatively calm as participants await trade results and possible changes in tariffs to be announced by US President Donald Trump.
Northern European producers’ margins hit an almost one-year high, with HRC profitability exceeding blast furnace production costs by €181/t as of March 31, the highest since April 5 last year.
As GMK Center reported earlier, 21.68 million tonnes of flat products from third countries were supplied to the EU market in 2024, up 7.5% compared to 2023. Hot-rolled flat products (HS 7208) traditionally account for the largest import volumes, amounting to 10.81 million tonnes, up 4.3% y/y.
Key suppliers of flat products to the EU in 2024 include: South Korea, India, Turkey, Taiwan, Vietnam, China and Ukraine. These countries accounted for 75% of the total imports of the relevant products last year.
