Northern European HRC Steel prices drop to €376 per ton

UNITED KINGDOM September 22 2015 4:03 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): Northern Europe hot rolled cold (HRC) steel prices dropped by €2 per ton week-on-week at €376 per ton in the week ended September 11, as per the latest figures released by The Steel Index. 

North European HRC prices were more stable, as market participants reported that producers were still offering the product between €370-380 a ton. But an increasing gap with South European prices and imports, the latter reportedly at €320 a ton CIF Antwerp, may make maintaining this domestic price level difficult. 

Meanwhile, 3.3kt of North European HRC swaps were cleared the week by LCH.Clearnet. 

However, South European HRC index lost €16 a ton since last Friday, closing the week at €332 a ton, the lowest level since May 2009. 

Falls in Chinese-origin HRC import prices to €300/t CIF Italy and increased output by Ilva meant pre-holiday price levels quickly became unsustainable, forcing domestic mills to significantly drop their asking prices. 

The majority of transactions were recorded in a €330-335/t range, while some deals were done even lower.