Europe HRC mill margins slip from May on higher iron ore costs

摘要

London—Higher iron ore prices in June continue to pressure European steel margins, with indicative margins for Northwest Europe HRC steel moving lower from May, according to an analysis by S&P Global Platts. Northwest Europe HRC margins to raw materials fell to Eur214/mt ($240/mt) on Wednesday, from May's average of Eur221/mt. Iron ore fines prices have trended above $100/dry mt CFR China this month on lower supply from Australia and ongoing disruption in high grade pellet feed and fines from southern Brazil. This has been leading to higher contract iron ore prices in Europe and northeast Asia as the main 62% Fe IODEX benchmark is used for pricing several grades.