[Kobe Steel atinge corte de 23% nas emissões em relação ao ano fiscal de 2013 e aposta em HBI e hidrogênio para chegar a 30% até 2030]

[Turkey] The Turkish steel market operated under broad downward pressure last week. In the long products segment, aggressive discounting by traders liquidating stock for cash forced domestic mills to follow suit, pushing rebar ex-works prices down by 5 USD/tonne to 620 USD/tonne EXW (excluding VAT). By region, traders in Izmir cut offers to 610–615 USD/tonne EXW, prompting a major local producer to track the drop by cutting 10 USD/tonne to 615 USD/tonne EXW; mills across Iskenderun and Marmara similarly marked down offers by 5–10 USD/tonne. While low-cost positions built earlier allow traders to remain profitable despite price cuts, rising construction project costs and the simmering domestic investment fund crisis have heightened market anxieties over an accelerated seasonal demand slowdown. On the export side, rebar FOB export prices held flat at 615 USD/tonne FOB amid sluggish liquidity. In the flat steel sector, following waves of concentrated order bookings over the preceding two to three weeks, domestic procurement ground to a halt, fueling market expectations that hot-rolled coil (HRC) may follow longs into a downward cycle. Although domestic HRC ex-works prices held nominally flat at 620 USD/tonne EXW, actual transactions were essentially frozen. On the export front, the market remained tightly focused on the reopening of the EU's Q4 import safeguard quotas; with 271,000 tonnes of Turkish HRC currently awaiting clearance, quota exhaustion risks pressured export prices down by 5 USD/tonne to 610 USD/tonne FOB. Meanwhile, imported HRC held steady at 555 USD/tonne CFR, seeing negligible transaction activity amid Chinese holiday closures and alternative origins being either sidelined or aggressively priced.

[Iran] Iranian flat steel exports were broadly constrained last week, weighed down by the sharp depreciation of the rial and persistent logistical bottlenecks. Extreme currency volatility further exacerbated the wait-and-see sentiment among both buyers and sellers. In the slab segment, no concrete export transactions were recorded; Asian buyers largely shunned Iranian cargoes due to logistical uncertainties and US sanctions risks. Although one mill floated a tender at Bandar Abbas for 30,000–50,000 tonnes of November-loading material, elevated freight rates and vessel shortages mean the final buyers will likely be confined to neighboring countries. For hot-rolled coil (HRC), overall trading remained muted, with border exports mostly dedicated to fulfilling prior order backlogs. While September HRC deliveries to Iraq held at 540–560 USD/tonne FCA border crossings, Iraqi buyers' acceptance of higher-priced Iranian material has become noticeably restricted.

[Europa] Os preços persistentemente baixos do aço acabado a jusante continuam a exercer pressão descendente sobre o mercado de bobinas laminadas a quente (HRC) da UE, limitando a capacidade das usinas de elevar as ofertas; consequentemente, os preços à saída da fábrica tanto no Noroeste da Europa quanto na Itália permaneceram estáveis. Os centros de serviços de aço da UE observaram francamente que os lucros escassos gerados pela aquisição de HRC de alto preço não cobrem de forma alguma seus custos de processamento e operacionais diários. Os fabricantes de tubos a jusante também relataram comércio lento, afirmando que a fraca demanda do usuário final não sustenta aumentos nos preços dos produtos acabados, com seus preços-alvo de compra para novas encomendas de HRC bem abaixo das cotações atuais das usinas. No front das importações, embora as cotas turcas estejam tendendo à exaustão, os volumes remanescentes ainda podem oferecer alguma margem de liberação. Os preços de importação de HRC giram atualmente em torno de 705 USD/tonelada CIF; no entanto, as restrições de cotas, os custos de conformidade com o CBAM e a concorrência acirrada entre os fornecedores turcos lançaram considerável incerteza sobre as encomendas futuras para 2027. Do lado da oferta, a ADI da Itália está atualmente cumprindo apenas contratos existentes e pausou a aceitação de novas encomendas. Notavelmente, o recuo recente do euro em relação ao dólar inflacionou o custo em dólares do material importado, proporcionando indiretamente um nível de suporte para os preços domésticos do aço europeu.