South European HRC import prices have lost ground during recent weeks, as the euro remains weak against the dollar and demand from importers is scarce, Kallanish learns from market sources.

Last week the EU received the news that provisional duties on HRC imports from Russia, Brazil, Iran, Ukraine and Serbia would not be imposed. This did not revitalise the market however, as stocks in Europe remain high and definitive duties could still be imposed in the near future.

A Spanish trader confirms that offers have lowered somewhat, with India remaining the most competitive at €510-515/tonne ($544-550/t) cif Spain for HRC, while Turkey remained some €5/t more expensive. Kallanish understands from other sources in Italy that that €500-505/t cif Italy could also be achieved from India with firm bids.

Nevertheless demand from importers remains slow. A senior trader says that the entire coil market activity has slowed in Italy and Spain significantly since March as stocks are high at service centres and distributors.

“Everyone is the market is expecting further price drops, we are selling our stocks at the docks at the price of the new lower offers at the moment,” a trader comments.