NEWSBREAK: ArcelorMittal Europe substantially raises coil offers for third time in March

New offers for hot-rolled coil (HRC) were heard at €900 ($1,062) per tonne ex-works, up by €50 per tonne from previous offers at €850 per tonne ex-works in Northern Europe, and up by €80 per tonne from €820 per tonne ex-works in Italy.

New offers for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) were reported at €1,000-1,050 per tonne ex-works, up by €30-80 per tonne from previous offers in the north of the EU.

Some buyers said that they had received offers at the lower end of the range, while other sources said that official offers were heard at €1,050 per tonne ex-works. Last week, the producer had been offering such material at €940 per tonne ex-works.

Market sources also said that new cold-rolled coil (CRC) offers were heard at €980 per tonne ex-works, up by €30 per tonne from the previous official offers in the north of Europe, and up by €60 per tonne in Italy.

Market sources also reported the different lead times the producer was able to provide. Some sources said that material currently offered was for August-October rolling, while others said that June-rolling coil was still available from some mills.

Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at €821.67 per tonne on March 25, up by €29.17 per tonne week on week and by €86.67 per tonne month on month.

And Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, at €808.33 tonne on March 25, up by €5 per tonne day on day.

The bullish trend in the European coil market has been supported by a material shortage, good demand and a lack of competitive material from overseas.