[SMM Analysis] HRC Prices Outside China Hold Steady, But Market Activity Diverges

Published: Feb 25, 2026 13:46

[SMM Analysis] Holiday Stability in Overseas Prices, Divergent Trading Performance

HRC prices in Thailand and Malaysia mostly held steady. As the holidays largely coincided with those in the domestic market and shipments were affected by the Chinese New Year, overall transaction activity remained relatively weak. The galvanizing market in Thailand performed moderately, but due to low-priced resources capturing market share, downstream shipments were somewhat impacted, leaving limited room for price increases. Influenced by factors such as Ramadan, HRC trading in Indonesia also trended toward mediocrity, while overseas export offers remained stable amid a wait-and-see stance. However, supported by government policies promoting increased use of domestically produced steel in the local shipbuilding industry, medium and long-term demand for sheets & plates in Indonesia is expected to remain relatively optimistic.The Black Sea market recently exhibited overall calm, with FOB offers for HRC exports pulling back slightly compared to pre-holiday levels. Although some routine transactions were concluded, overall market activity remained sluggish.

Despite tight spot supply in the domestic Indian HRC market, it remains range-bound due to weak overall procurement demand, lacking momentum for price increases. Turkish HRC export offers have seen slight increases, following the price hike trend among European producers. European and US markets face strong policy and cost disruptions: although the US Supreme Court overturned some previously imposed tariffs by the president, the subsequent announcement of new global tariffs of up to 15% has sharply heightened market risk aversion. In European markets such as Italy, steel mills are leading ex-factory price increases against a backdrop of tight spot supply. 

 

Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement:

This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights.

The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders.

The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties.

Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may:

1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating);

2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party;

3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report;

4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses.

Data Source Statement:

(Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice.

SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn
For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn
Related News
[SMM Analysis] Non-Oriented Silicon Steel Prices May Hold Up Well Next Week
2 hours ago
[SMM Analysis] Non-Oriented Silicon Steel Prices May Hold Up Well Next Week
Read More
[SMM Analysis] Non-Oriented Silicon Steel Prices May Hold Up Well Next Week
[SMM Analysis] Non-Oriented Silicon Steel Prices May Hold Up Well Next Week
Outlook: Prices of cold-rolled non-oriented silicon steel in Shanghai are expected to operate steadily with a slight upward bias next week.
2 hours ago
[SMM Silicon Steel In-Depth - Capacity Chapter] Silicon Steel Landscape Undergoes Dramatic Changes: High-End Surges, Low-End Exits the Market, Structural Capacity Reshaping Imminent!
4 hours ago
[SMM Silicon Steel In-Depth - Capacity Chapter] Silicon Steel Landscape Undergoes Dramatic Changes: High-End Surges, Low-End Exits the Market, Structural Capacity Reshaping Imminent!
Read More
[SMM Silicon Steel In-Depth - Capacity Chapter] Silicon Steel Landscape Undergoes Dramatic Changes: High-End Surges, Low-End Exits the Market, Structural Capacity Reshaping Imminent!
[SMM Silicon Steel In-Depth - Capacity Chapter] Silicon Steel Landscape Undergoes Dramatic Changes: High-End Surges, Low-End Exits the Market, Structural Capacity Reshaping Imminent!
[Silicon Steel Pattern Drastic Change: High-End Surges, Low-End Exits the Market, Structural Capacity Restructuring Is Imminent!] Looking ahead to the next five years, several silicon steel projects are currently awaiting commissioning. However, the issue of domestic silicon steel oversupply persists, and further capacity expansion is expected to intensify the supply-demand imbalance, continuously putting pressure on silicon steel prices. Meanwhile, the price of hot-rolled coil as the cost base remains firm, leading to shrinking profits for silicon steel producers. Even leading enterprises see meager profits or even losses when producing low-grade products, with only high-grade silicon steel maintaining relatively good profitability. Coupled with mandatory energy efficiency standard upgrades at the policy level, the commissioning of high-end silicon steel capacity and the phasing out of outdated capacity are imminent. The structural restructuring of silicon steel capacity has officially begun!!!
4 hours ago
[SMM Analysis] Supply and Demand Fail to Achieve Effective Alignment, GO Silicon Steel Prices Expected to Remain Stable Next Week
4 hours ago
[SMM Analysis] Supply and Demand Fail to Achieve Effective Alignment, GO Silicon Steel Prices Expected to Remain Stable Next Week
Read More
[SMM Analysis] Supply and Demand Fail to Achieve Effective Alignment, GO Silicon Steel Prices Expected to Remain Stable Next Week
[SMM Analysis] Supply and Demand Fail to Achieve Effective Alignment, GO Silicon Steel Prices Expected to Remain Stable Next Week
[Supply and Demand Sides Fail to Achieve Effective Docking, GO Silicon Steel Prices May Remain Stable Next Week] Market-wise, the silicon steel market was largely closed during the Chinese New Year. In the first week after the holiday, traders gradually resumed work, but there were no substantial transactions in the market, with the main focus being on sorting out and executing pre-holiday orders. Grain-oriented silicon steel resources shipped by steel mills during the Chinese New Year continued to arrive at ports, coupled with the fact that demand had not yet picked up in the first week after the holiday, leading to a slight accumulation of inventory in the trade sector, with both Hi-B resources and ordinary CGO grain-oriented silicon steel arriving in varying amounts.
4 hours ago