[SMM Steel] Global flat steel market faces structural shift in 2026

SMM News Flash:  [HRC] Today, HRC export prices decreased by 3 USD/tonne compared to the previous month. Some large factories in the north still maintain a high quotation level of 530 USD/tonne because there are still some orders for special specifications, and large factories have no obvious willingness to reduce prices and ship. [India] Indian HRC SAE1006 offers to Vietnam declined sharply to $580/t CFR for June shipments as sellers lowered prices to remain competitive. Vietnam continued to be a key target market for Indian exporters amid weaker demand elsewhere. Market sentiment remained cautious, with Indian exports facing pressure from falling EU prices and uncertain recovery in the Middle East market.

[SMM Hot-Rolled Coil Daily Trading] On May 18, the combined daily trading volume of hot-rolled coil from SMM's sample enterprises across four cities (Shanghai, Lecong, Tianjin, and Ningbo) totaled 13,070 mt, down 610 mt DoD (-4.5%), up 12.00% YoY (solar calendar), and up 22.84% YoY (lunar calendar).

[SMM Steel] The European Commission released a draft regulation clarifying how importers can deduct carbon costs already paid in third countries from CBAM certificate obligations. The draft outlines detailed rules covering carbon price calculation methods, verification procedures, supporting documents, and supply chain traceability requirements. Under the proposal, companies can offset carbon taxes, carbon fees, or ETS costs paid in the production country only if the costs are directly linked to product emissions, exclude government subsidies or rebates, and are supported by transparent and verifiable emissions data. The regulation is expected to become a key supporting framework for CBAM’s full operational phase.