- Chinese HRC offers on SHFE rise by $29/t w-o-w
- EC safeguard measures impacting CRC imports
Indian cold rolled coil (CRC) export offers to Europe rose by $65-70/t, to hover at around $675-680/t FOB east coast, India ($725-730/t CFR Antwerp). Moreover, a deal of around 7,000 tonnes (t) was heard concluded at $725/t for April 2025 sales.
Indian CRC export volumes in CY’24 stood at 501,187 t, down by 45,913 t y-o-y against 547,100 t in CY’23.
Chinese CRC export offers remained stable for the week at $545/t FOB.
Chinese hot rolled coil (HRC) offers on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) increased by RMB 29/t ($4/t) w-o-w to RMB 3,378/t ($465/t) as compared to RMB 3,349/t ($461/t) a week ago. However, on d-o-d basis, these remained range bound.
The European Commission (EC) has imposed steel safeguards measures, impacting imports of CRCs, effective 1 April 2025 till 30 June 2026. The changes aim to protect the EU steel industry from surging imports. A 13% cap targets Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, and Turkiye. “Other countries” CRC quota is at 334,369 t, limiting each supplier to 43,467 t. CRC suppliers face a decline of 13-25% within this quota.
The EU’s current high domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices have prompted Indian steel suppliers to offer competitive import options. However, the European Commission’s newly introduced steel safeguard measures have stimulated demand for EU-produced HRCs.
Outlook
The revised EU steel import policies will significantly reshape the market. Reduced HRC quotas and new caps on CRC imports will redistribute market share, benefiting domestic producers and intensifying competition. This may create opportunities for some countries, but overall EU imports are expected to decrease.
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