Southern European HRC Steel prices advance significantly to €326 per ton

UNITED KINGDOM April 05 2016 5:59 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The Southern European hot rolled cold (HRC) steel prices rose sharply by €21 a ton week-on-week to €326 a ton during the week ended March 18, as per the latest figures from the Steel Index.

Following a few weeks of continuous price rises in the European steel market, TSI’s hot rolled coil indices had a more stable week. 

North European mills were heard offering HRC near the €350 a ton mark, but transaction prices remained around €10 a ton lower, as market participants pointed to aggressive offers from some steel service centers as a factor limiting the pace of price increases in the region. 

Similarly, the South European market has largely absorbed the recent price hike, but discounts were still available to official mills’ asking prices. 

TSI’s South European HRC index gained €40 a ton from the beginning of February and some buyers commented that such rises have been steep enough with doubts being casted as to whether steel producers would be able to achieve further increases in the near term.