EU HRC imports surge in July

Imports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) into the EU increased sharply in July, underpinned by a surge in Indian supply.

The reset of the quarterly safeguard quotas in July allowed for an increase in imports from multiple origins, which pushed up the overall import supply twofold on the year to 1.18mn t. Arrivals rose by 41pc on June.

Indian material constituted 35pc of the total, at 410,500t, up from just 45,800t a year earlier and 13,800t in June. India has sold 1.08mn t into the EU over January-July, up from 398,486t over the same period last year, and 655,636t for 2020 as a whole. Indian exports have increased as the delta variant of Covid-19 has subdued domestic demand.

Turkish imports were only 15pc of the overall amount in July, falling by 4pc year on year, but doubling from June volumes. Turkish supply had a 29pc share of the market in 2020, down from 37pc in 2019, evidence of the impact of the anti-dumping duties imposed at the start of 2021.

Imports from Russia into the EU were 176,500t in July, rising by 38pc on the year, but down by 28pc on the month. Russian supply amounted to 15pc of the total, lower than the average for 2021 so far at 24pc. Imports from Ukraine were 89,400t in July, despite anti-dumping duties, which over the past few years kept volumes from the country low. This was up from 1,400t a year earlier and 65,800t in June.

Countries not subject to the EU's safeguard measures have also continued to ramp up supply to the region, with imports from Egypt up to 74,200t in July from 10,300t a year earlier.

By Lora Stoyanova