January a fresh record for CME EU HRC contract

January is a new record month for the CME Group's North European hot-rolled coil (HRC) contract.

As of 15:40 GMT today, 127,260t has traded on the contract this month, meaning it has surpassed the previous record of 120,540t set in October 2022, with trading days still remaining.

European HRC volumes represent almost 35pc of US HRC volumes this month, with the older contract trading 369,180st — CME launched its European contract in March 2020, while the more established US contract launched in 2008.

In its first 35 months, EU HRC has cumulatively traded over 1.45mn t. Over the same period the US contract, widely deemed the most successful steel derivative outside of China for the amount of physical participation it receives, traded the equivalent of 932,105t.

Since August, over 667,000t has traded on the European contract, annualising out at well over 1 mn t/yr. A number of physical participants are actively trading the contract, which has helped Argus' underlying northwest European HRC index gain traction in the physical market amid unprecedented volatility.

By Colin Richardson