ArcelorMittal hikes coil offers for second time in week

Leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal has increased its hot-rolled coil (HRC) offer, customers told Argus today.

The mill is now officially targeting €800/t in northwest Europe, and has also upped its hot-dip galvanised (HDG) offer for the second time in a week, to €920/t. Cold-rolled coil (CRC) has also been increased again, to around €900/t. The mill increased downstream product prices by €20/t just last Friday.

In Italy the mill was reportedly targeting €780/t delivered for HRC.

Global prices have jumped this week on the back of rising Asian markets. As a result, import offers have increased or been withdrawn. Buyers said that import negotiations have been frustrating this week, with sellers withdrawing offers when deals were close to being finalised, and coming back with higher levels.

Most third-country sellers pulled or increased offers of CRC and HDG last week, after ArcelorMittal's announcement. This fresh announcement may well prompt another jump in import offers.

That said, the €800/t target in northwest Europe could open the door to imports, with some offers in the low €700s/t region on a cfr basis. One Asian mill was offering S275JR base material around this level for a fairly prompt May arrival — this grade is more regularly used in the UK than in Europe, and would trade at a slight premium to S235 given the higher tensile strength.

The market narrative has changed in the last fortnight or so, from buyers anticipating softer levels to panicking over availability, with most domestic producers now quoting third-quarter delivery or withdrawing completely.

By Colin Richardson and Lora Stoyanova