Prices for processed coil products in north-western Europe seem to have picked up somewhat, and many in the market believe that they ought to stabilise towards the higher end. But even within the relatively smaller market of Benelux, players contacted by Kallanish are expressing different sentiments.

“It is true that we are seeing an upward trend in the spot market, albeit a small one,” says a manager at a service centre. “European mills are anxious to correct their prices upward,” he says, pressured by costs for iron ore now well above $100/tonne, while steel sales are declining. He sees the price for cold-rolled and hot-dip galvanized coil at €580/t ($657/t) and above. Another manager agrees, and notes that one major mill “… is very tough and aiming for an increase,” which he says could be another €10-15/t.

This opinion is not shared by others who find there has not been not much of an uptick. “We may be above €560/t at the moment,” one says. But even on a delivered basis, as is customary in Benelux, he doubts that mills can achieve more than €570/t.

He looks at the situation from the perspective of consumers, who he says have high stocks and are paying low prices to the service centres. “There are always distributors that sell aggressively, to create cash liquidity,” he continues. This is what is preventing prices from stabilising downstream, he adds.