News
17/07/25
EU HRC imports rise in May
London, 17 July (Argus) — European hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports rose on the
year in May, but fell from the preceding month when quarterly quotas had just
reset. Imports rose by 50pc on the year, and fell by 36pc on month, to 600,000t.
Turkey remained the largest supplier, shipping 230,000t. Turkish shipments rose
by 140pc on the year and edged up by 5pc on the month, supported by its large
country-specific quotas for HRC, which helped maintain strong export flows in
May. Sales from South Korea and Taiwan were limited, with Taiwan recording no
shipments and South Korea supplying only about 3,000t, as both had exhausted
their quotas in April. Indonesian shipments remained strong, as it is exempt
from quotas. Volumes more than doubled on the year and tripled on the month to
116,500t. There has been talk of Indonesia coming into the scope of the
safeguard, but mill sources suggest this is unlikely before next year as any
review could see countries currently under the measure becoming exempt.
Cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dip galvanised (HDG) imports also declined in
May, largely because of quota constraints. Combined volumes dropped by 26pc on
the month to 127,500t. CRC shipments from Turkey fell sharply, down by 93pc on
the year and month. India was the main CRC supplier with 31,000t, despite this
being 25pc lower than in May last year. HDG imports saw a steeper drop, falling
by 73pc on the month to 212,000t, underpinned by the absence of Vietnamese and
Chinese suppliers. A similar trend was seen in longs. Rebar imports dropped by
65pc on the month to 69,200t, as Egypt and Turkey were out of the market after
exhausting their quotas early in the second quarter. Wire rod imports fell by
50pc on the month to 144,000t. The UK increased its shipments by 27pc compared
with April to 43,000t, making it the largest wire rod supplier in May. On the
export side, EU HRC shipments declined by 11.5pc on the month to 196,804t, as
sales to Turkey and the US weakened. The UK accounted for 92,400t of the total,
marking a 62pc increase on the year. The Netherlands has been selling more into
the UK since Tata Steel closed its Port Talbot blast furnaces, and continued to
service some higher-spec grades from its sister plant in IJmuiden. EU rebar
exports dropped by 27pc on the year but rose by 32pc on the month to 51,000t,
supported by 15,400t in sales to the US, which had recorded no imports from EU
in April. Wire rod exports also declined on the year and fell by 7pc on the
month, with weaker sales to key destinations including Switzerland, the UK and
US. By Elif Eyuboglu EU steel imports t May-25 ±% May 24 ±% Apr 25 HRC 601,258
49.3% -35.9% CRC 127,527 -47.0% -26.0% HDG 212,082 -57.2% -73.0% Plate 210,232
1.5% 24.5% Rebar 69,266 -45.7% -64.5% Wire rod 143,877 -5.6% -50.5% Slab 650,733
7.3% 47.3% Billet 179,713 38.3% -10.0% — GTT EU steel exports t May-25 ±% May 24
±% Apr 25 HRC 196,804 -7.2% -11.5% CRC 82,126 -39.0% -11.4% HDG 251,449 -10.6%
9.3% Plate 128,946 -25.2% 4.7% Rebar 50,845 -27.0% 31.9% Wire rod 89,635 -26.6%
-7.1% Slab 11,562 -18.3% -72.4% Billet 13,682 -45.6% -31.5% — GTT Send comments
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