[SMM Steel]

[Italy] European hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices moved higher this week due to a shortage of procurement options in both domestic and import markets, with Italy leading the gains as offers rose 10 USD/tonne to 820 USD/tonne EXW. Ahead of the August summer holidays, some European steelmakers chose to withdraw their offers. Meanwhile, downstream acceptance of high-priced material remains limited and pre-holiday procurement has largely concluded, causing overall trading to ground to a halt. On the import front, Italian buyers recently secured small volumes of Turkish material at 640 USD/tonne CIF, while Indian HRC offers held steady at 630–640 USD/tonne CFR.

[Black Sea] Escalating geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea and Azov Sea have triggered severe maritime shipping paralysis. Following the cancellation of war risk coverage by the Russian National Reinsurance Company and a series of attacks leaving several merchant vessels sunk or damaged, shipowners are avoiding port calls or declaring force majeure. Consequently, steel billet freight rates on the Russia-Turkey route have surged to 25–35 USD/tonne, with insurance premiums skyrocketing to 10–15 USD/tonne. As shipping disruptions pose a grave threat to Turkey's import supply chain, buyers have been forced to pivot toward domestic sourcing; after Karabük raised its billet offers by 10 USD/tonne to 525–530 USD/tonne EXW, transaction volumes reached approximately 100,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, with Ukrainian iron ore shipments blocked and Russian coal diversions constrained, regional exports of steelmaking raw materials and semi-finished products have plunged into deep paralysis.

미국 상무부는 베트남산 콘크리트용 철근에 대한 반덤핑 및 상계관세 조사의 최종 판정을 통해, 의무 응답 기업에 123.49%, 기타 모든 수출업체에 131.53%의 반덤핑 관세율을, 그리고 6.8%의 상계관세율을 확정했다. 이번 사건은 관세 부과 명령이 발효되기 전에 미국 국제무역위원회(ITC)의 최종 산업피해 판정을 받게 된다.