Steel Price Tracker: Demand weakness pressures Asia, Europe and Brazil

Research evidence excerpt

Steel Price Tracker: Demand weakness pressures Asia, Europe and Brazil

mited trading activity. Although offers

were reported in a range of $570–590/t, market participants indicated that sales activity

was almost nonexistent, reflecting challenging conditions across key export destinations.

Traders described the market as “really quiet,” noting that other regional suppliers,

including Egypt, were facing similar difficulties. Looking ahead, workable price levels are

expected to soften further into the mid-$560s/t, suggesting further downward pressure.

Europe: weak demand continues to cap price recovery

According to Platts, European HRC market conditions remained stable but subdued, with

weak demand continuing to cap any meaningful price recovery despite mills' efforts to

support higher prices. Market activity remained quiet, while uncertainty around

safeguard quotas and import tariffs continued to limit buying interest. However, the

recent clarification of country-specific quotas improved market visibility and could

support a modest recovery in activity and restocking demand in the coming weeks.

North America: HRC remains supported by tight supply

Platts reported that weekly US steel prices were flat last week, with HRC steady at

$1,256.6/t and rebar at $945/t. Lead times were up to 7 weeks for HRC and flat at 8.8

weeks for CRC. According to Platts, US HRC prices remained supported by tight supply

conditions and limited spot availability. Many buyers continued to maximize their

contract allocations to secure material, while demand showed signs of resilience,

particularly from the solar sector, supporting expectations that shipments will increase

in June. In long steel, US rebar demand is reportedly benefiting from ongoing

infrastructure and data center projects.