HRC production in Belgium, Germany and Netherlands is estimated to have totalled 36.1 million tonnes in 2018, or 44% of the EU HRC output, according to Fastmarkets MB research. Northern Europe is the hub of the European domestic steel market, traditionally setting a domestic price trend for other EU regions. In addition, the recent toughening of trade cases has increased the volatility of domestic HRC prices in the region. Fastmarkets therefore believes that there is sufficient volume and market liquidity in Northern Europe – including Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium – to support a daily price.
The proposed specification for the Steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe, €/tonne is as follows:
Quality: Grade s235jr, width 1,200-1,300mm, thickness 3mm. Standard extras for dimensions excluded
Quantity: Min 50 tonnes
Location: Ex-works Northern Europe (defined as Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium)
Timing: Up to 6 weeks
Unit: EUR/tonne
Payment terms: Typical commercial practice in the HRC market. Transactions that are conducted on different payment or credit terms will be adjusted back to the base specifications, taking into account discounts and standard
Publication: Daily, 4pm London time
Notes: Only material offered to/traded within Northern Europe, as defined above, will be considered
A US$/tonne conversion will be automatically generated alongside the €/tonne index in the Fastmarkets MB Price Book.
The consultation period for this proposed change will end one month from the date of this pricing notice on Monday December 1. Subject to market feedback, the last weekly EU domestic hot rolled coil € per tonne ex-works Northern Europe price assessment will be published on Wednesday December 4, with the first daily index being published on Thursday December 5.
Fastmarkets index methodology applies a tonnage-weighted model, which will ensure the Northern Europe domestic HRC index is the most robust in the industry.
To provide feedback on this index or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter, contact Maria Tanatar by email at pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Maria Tanatar, re: Northern Europe domestic HRC Index.’
To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.