EU rolled metal imports fell as suppliers exhausted quotas

Hot rolled metal imports to Europe have declined slightly over the past two weeks as a direct consequence of the global decline in steel prices.

However, the nominal price decline did not affect the European domestic market. This is due to the current anti-dumping measures, as well as the security system.

Indian suppliers are now offering HRCs to southern Europe at around € 665 per tonne (US $ 800), up nearly € 30 per tonne since early January. The trader confirms this figure, but adds that these quotes mainly come from traders who open the market in times of uncertainty. “There have been similar offers from Taiwan, but in fact no one is ordering in Europe at the moment,” commented the trader.

However, new proposals can only be considered for second-quarter deliveries, as the first quarter quotas for the Indian HRC have already been exhausted. Under the official EU quota system, India has used up all of its more than 160,000 tonnes of tariff-free quotas.

In other countries, such as Turkey and Russia, there are still sufficient quotas. HRC imports of Indian origin in the second quarter will also be able to use up to 30% of the “other countries” sub-group, which means that there will be an additional 300,000 tonnes of markups on the market from India.

“In the international market, prices start to change, but internal European prices remain,” notes another trader. “India seems to be the only alternative to European supplies, but with supplies starting in May. Turkey is less competitive due to tariffs and other suppliers such as South Korea do not offer large volumes. ”