October is the strongest volume month for the CME Group's North European hot-rolled coil (HRC) contract since February of this year.

 

As of today at 10:00 GMT, 92,610t had traded on the contract, the highest level since 170,520t in February and slightly above the 87,060t cleared in September.

 

Nearly 18,000t has traded over 25-26 October, after news of deals completed in a wide range proliferated on the marketplace. Argus captured deals at €590/t and €625/t in its price formation process on 25 October. On CME, January traded today at €660/t, while a 4,000t March trade went through at a slight backwardation, at €655/t. March settled on 25 October at €660/t, while January was at €650/t.

 

The physical market in northwest Europe remains quiet, but mills have increased offers to try and offset high raw material costs and with contract talks soon to begin with automakers and their supply chain. Some automakers have tried to use indexes for the contracts, enabling them to hedge exposure more cleanly, but some large producers have pushed back.

 

There is an expectation that there will be some restocking by service centres in the coming months after a sustained period of liquidating inventories, although real demand remains somewhat subdued. Imports are less of a threat to local mills, as participants expect that January quotas may fill quickly, with many offers now for April clearance. argusmedia