Northern European HRC Steel prices continue to decline to €379 per ton

UNITED KINGDOM September 02 2015 11:25 AM

LONDON (Scrap Register): Northern Europe hot rolled cold (HRC) steel prices continued to decline by €4 a ton week-on-week to €379 per ton in the week ended August 21, as per the latest figures released by The Steel Index. 

North European HR coil spot prices slipped to €379 a ton ex-works early on in the week and remained stable at this 12-month low thereafter. 

All the news this week has been about the Yuan devaluation in China and its impact on global markets at a time when the world’s largest steel producer’s finished steel exports hit record volumes.

In Europe specifically, improvements in demand from both automotive and construction markets have not been met with higher domestic prices due to increased import activity. 

The summer lull will, in all likelihood, continue for the remainder of the month before participants return to the market.

According to MEPS, effective stainless steel selling figures in Europe are expected to continue to soften, month-on-month, until the end of this year. Gently rising transaction values are foreseen during the first half of 2016, driven by raw material costs. Stainless steel prices are likely to weaken as demand slows in advance of the traditional summer shut-down season.