Efforts by northwestern European mills to bring up coil prices have been met with a matter-of-fact attitude and little excitement or concern among buyers in the region.

Most distributors are not currently interested in buying much. “Inventories are still full and service centres need to work down their order books first before going for purchases,” a Ruhr-based distributor manager says. He suggests it may take another month before prices change significantly.

The announcement of ArcelorMittal to bring up prices by €30/tonne ($34) “will not take effect, but it will prevent a further downward slide”, another distributor tells Kallanish. “We, ourselves, are certainly not prepared to pay higher prices.”

According to a Dutch observer, several steel producers knocked on the doors of stockholders, service centres and other customers in January, asking whether new orders can be expected. “This conduct indicates moderate order books,” he notes. He sees regional prices for hot rolled coil at around €900/t ($1,032) ex-works, with offers also quoted at up to €20/t either side of this level.

They may be inching towards €950 and higher, the further north you go in Germany, but will be lower in the Alps. “HRC prices at the mills are below €900, and I do not see an increase,” an Austrian manager says. He finds ArcelorMittal’s announcement “justified for the market leader”, but still not realistic. In fact, he has observed a softening of distributors’ prices recently.