Conditions have remained quiet in Europe over the past month. A combination of sluggish end-user demand, high inventories and pressure from third-country imports has continued to impact on prices. These weaker market conditions have particularly impacted on hot-dipped galvanised sheet, which is the weakest sheet product in most European domestic markets. In Germany, the market seems divided between hot-dipped galvanized coil on the one hand, and HR and CR coil on the other. For the latter two products, while day-to-day business remains a little slow, contract business remains fairly good. Therefore, prices have remained stable over the past month at 495 euro for HR coil and 560 euro for CR coil. However, for HDG coil, although the automotive sector continues to provide a stable base for demand, other end-use sectors are weaker. At the same time, stocks remain high, while imports are offered at attractive levels. As a result, our assessment of HDG prices has fallen by a further 20 euro/tonne over the past month to 620 euro/tonne.
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