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[Indonesia] Currently, HRC prices remain stable at 523 USD/tonne FOB. There has been no change over the last three days, despite some steel mills having lowered their prices. Since then, there has been little or no movement in the market. At present, and possibly in the future, we need to monitor the impact of the long public holiday in China, as Chinese steel products are one of the biggest drivers of the steel market in South-East Asia. Freight costs also need to be monitored as oil prices are rising, although it is unlikely that prices will rise too sharply.

German steelmaker Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM) has permanently shut down Blast Furnace A at its Duisburg plant, marking the start of a major transformation as German heavy industry moves toward more environmentally friendly production. HKM shut down the furnace on September 20, after it had produced cast iron continuously since 1973. The move comes against a backdrop of structural change, with HKM becoming wholly owned by the Salzgitter Group in July 2026. Blast Furnace B remains in operation for now, but the strategic plan calls for a gradual phase-out of traditional blast furnace production in favor of electrometallurgy, with Germany's largest electric arc furnace planned for the site. This follows HKM's earlier decommissioning of coke oven battery No. 2 at the same plant in September.

Italy's crude steel production fell 3.5% year on year to 793,000 tonnes in August 2026, according to Italian steel industry association Federacciai. Despite the August decline, crude steel production during January-August increased 2.4% year on year to 13.993 million tonnes. Output trends diverged significantly between long and flat products. Italian long steel production fell 10.2% year on year to 395,000 tonnes in August, although January-August output remained 5.2% higher at around 8.4 million tonnes. Flat steel production, meanwhile, increased 30.3% year on year to 374,000 tonnes in August. The sharp increase partly reflected a low comparison base after flat-product production fell 31% in August 2025. During January-August 2026, flat steel output remained 2.4% lower year on year at around 5.7 million tonnes. The figures indicate that Italy's overall steel production weakened in August, with the decline particularly pronounced in long products despite cumulative production remaining above year-earlier levels.