[SMM Steel] Turkish Rebar Extends Weakness: Concentrated Restocking Concludes as Dual Weakness Weighs on Prices

[Europe] European hot-rolled coil (HRC) steel prices continued their upward trend today. With buyers facing highly constrained procurement choices and elevated raw material input costs providing baseline support, domestic mills maintained strong bargaining leverage and successfully pushed offer levels higher. The majority of European producers have either filled or are close to completing their fourth-quarter order books, enabling them to selectively accept business at higher price points. Producers are holding back official first-quarter allocations while awaiting an upcoming key industry event next week to better gauge market reaction. On the pricing front, the Northwest European HRC ex-works price edged up to 743 EUR/mt EXW (~831 USD/mt), while the Italian domestic price matched the gains, rising to 739 EUR/mt EXW (~826 USD/mt). Broadly speaking, underlying fundamentals remain largely unchanged with weak downstream end-user demand, leaving supply contraction and cost pressures as the primary drivers of current price momentum. On imports, market participants are actively tracking the precise duty calculations and quota drawdowns for October import arrivals, particularly regarding Turkish and Indian shipments.

[Vietnam] Vietnam’s imported hot-rolled coil market softened in the October 13 update, with the ASEAN HRC assessment declining by USD 1/tonne to USD 540/tonne CFR Vietnam. An Indonesian producer maintained its SAE1006 HRC offer at USD 542/tonne CFR, while traders indicated workable levels of USD 535–540/tonne CFR, down from USD 538–540/tonne on October 9. Some traders were seeking bids at USD 532/tonne CFR. The Indonesian producer remained reluctant to reduce offers amid industrial water supply constraints, while buying interest remained cautious.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Stellantis have expanded their partnership to develop vehicles for over 50 global markets, with manufacturing planned in India. The agreement will combine Tata Motors’ vehicle technology and architecture with Stellantis’ engineering capabilities, strengthening India’s role in global automotive production and exports.