Posted on 22 Jan 2026
Buyers of coil in Germany, Benelux, and neighbouring countries have expressed little surprise over ArcelorMittal’s recent announcement of a hot rolled coil price increase to €700/tonne ($821) ex-works.
Mills started the year with a reserved attitude, one southern German buyer reflects. “Of five mills, two would still give offers, the others did not appear on the market,” he tells Kallanish. He therefore expected that a new price announcement was near, with the market leader making the first move.
“They’re calling for €700, so another mill will give you a more friendly offer of €680,” a southern German buyer believes. A realistic price on the market could be €660, “which would be an achievement, too,” he believes. That would line up with orders he placed last week with a mill which had some capacity left for mid-March. Despite a long transport duration, he concluded the transaction for €660 delivered.
The mill has since informed him of a €20 increase this week, before ArcelorMittal’s announcement.
According to another observer, mills have only limited capacity until end-March, with offers at €650/t ex-works.
“That won’t last much longer, and then they will likely ask for €670,” he says. He anticipates those prices were already the mills’ target when HRC was selling at €630/t.
A Dutch manager saw prices only slightly higher in the Netherlands last week, with expectations of a rise to €700 or higher for the second quarter.
But he, in line with most players, is sure that “buyers remain cautious and there is no clear urge to buy.” The arguments of import policy measures and production costs stand against a recovery in demand that is hardly visible in practice, he finds.
Source:Kallanish
