Issue 26, 2025 - This week's editorial: China wide HRC exports rebound, EU prices bottoming

Chinese domestic hot rolled coil prices fell $4/tonne last week despite a jump in export deals as Vietnamese buyers resumed buying wide-width HRC from China after it became apparent Vietnam would not extend trade measures to product wider than 1,880mm. Scrap prices into Turkey consolidated at around $345/t cfr, while the European coil market anticipated an imminent price bottoming as uncertainty grew over CBAM’s impact on imports, six months before its implementation. JSW Steel appealed to India’s Supreme Court against the invalidation of its 2021 BPSL acquisition, Vietnam's Xuan Thien Group started construction of a mammoth new low-emission steelworks, and voestalpine agreed to supply steel to Chinese electric vehicle producer BYD’s prospective Hungarian factory.

Chinese HRC exports picked up as the market expected that Vietnam would not expand anti-dumping measures against Chinese HRC to products with a width exceeding 1,800mm. Certain Vietnamese importers have switched to importing this size to circumvent provisional anti-dumping duties imposed in February. Vietnam’s Trade Remedies Authority is reported to have submitted a proposal to boost the monitoring of wide HRC, with trade officials evaluating the need for a separate investigation into circumvention which would require new petitions and supporting evidence from domestic producers.

Prices in the Turkish imported scrap market consolidated as buyers and sellers treaded cautiously. Rapidly evolving geopolitical developments have heavily influenced market mood recently. Although Turkish mills attempted to push scrap prices down to the $335-340/t cfr range, most sellers maintained firm offers at above $340/t cfr, especially for US-origin material.

» Login to read the full report or sign up for a trial.