Fastmarkets launches new European carbon-reduced flat steel price

Fastmarkets, one of the industry’s leading cross-commodity price reporting agencies (PRA), announces the launch of a new European reduced carbon emissions flat steel price.

This new price, which is for domestically produced steel, forms part of Fastmarkets’ growing suite of prices catering to steel decarbonization and is a testament to our commitment to providing accurate and timely market information.

The reduced carbon emissions flat steel price is a differential paid for flat steel produced in European blast furnaces with carbon emissions of 1.4-1.95 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of steel.

According to Andrew Wells, global steel editor and steel pricing director,”A liquid market is emerging where buyers are currently paying around 30-60 euros/tonne for spot cargoes. This new price will provide transparency and help buyers make informed decisions in this fast-emerging market.”

“I am excited about the launch of our new reduced carbon flat steel price. This is not just a new product but a significant step forward in our commitment to sustainability and innovation,” said Raju Daswani, CEO of Fastmarkets. “In the emerging decarbonized steel market, accurate pricing is crucial. Our new reduced carbon flat steel price will provide much-needed transparency, fostering fairer trade and encouraging further innovations in the sector. As we move towards a greener future, we believe this initiative will play a pivotal role in driving the industry’s transition to low-carbon production methods.”

Wells added, “Our approach acknowledges that there are distinctly different premiums paid for steel produced with 0-1 tonne of CO₂ (the current range is 150-250 euros) and 1.4-1.9 tonnes of CO₂. This new price will provide a more accurate representation of the market and help drive the transition to more sustainable steel production.”

This new price tracks steel produced with carbon emissions that are higher than the maximum 1 tonne of CO₂ tracked by Fastmarkets’ flagship European green steel differential, which was launched in June 2023. Our growing suite of prices catering to steel decarbonization also includes the green steel price launched in East Asia in September 2023, and high-grade iron ore in February 2023. Fastmarkets also has the physical and financial benchmarks for 65% Fe fines iron ore.

The new price will be published every Thursday as the Europe green steel differential. Called the ‘reduced carbon emission flat steel differential’, it will be the first of its kind in the market. Alongside it, Fastmarkets will also launch a daily inferred base price. This price is calculated by adding the weekly reduced carbon differential to Fastmarkets’ established daily North Europe domestic HRC price, giving an accurate daily snapshot of the per-tonne cost of buying reduced carbon steel.

Fastmarkets is proud to be the first PRA to launch a price tracking this specific slice of the market, further solidifying our position as a leading provider of market intelligence in the commodities sector. The new European carbon-reduced flat steel price is a significant step towards a more sustainable future for the steel industry, and Fastmarkets is committed to supporting this transition.