European hot-rolled coil prices edged lower in both Italy and Northern Europe on July 29 amid subdued market activity and limited trading, while import volumes picked up in Southern Europe and Salzgitter announced a major decarbonisation milestone at its newly acquired HKM subsidiary in Duisburg. HRC DOMESTIC PRICES SOFTEN IN ITALY AND NORTHERN EUROPE Domestic HRC prices in Italy declined modestly on July 29, with market sources reporting offers at €730-740 per tonne delivered (€715-725 per tonne ex-works), though the upper end of the range was largely dismissed due to thin trading. One producer indicated workable prices for simple specifications at €700 per tonne ex-works, with levels of €710-720 per tonne ex-works applicable to higher specifications and special grades.
The same source quoted October production at €720-730 per tonne ex-works. According to Fastmarkets, its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, ex-works Italy settled at €707.50 per tonne on July 29, a decline of €2.19 per tonne from €709.69 per tonne the previous session. On a weekly basis, the index was up €5 per tonne, and rose €41.25 per tonne month-on-month.
In Northern Europe, trading was equally subdued, with no fresh transactions reported during the session. A buyer cited workable prices at €700-710 per tonne ex-works, though no additional data points were received as some participants were absent from the market. As a result, prices from July 28 were carried forward into the index calculation.
Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, ex-works Northern Europe was calculated at €708.00 per tonne on July 29, down €0.75 per tonne from the prior session, and €3.14 per tonne lower week-on-week, though still up €26.75 per tonne month-on-month. These figures were reported by Fastmarkets journalist Ivelina Nikolova. IMPORT ACTIVITY PICKS UP DESPITE SUMMER LULL Despite the holiday season dampening overall market participation, import activity in the European HRC market showed signs of recovery in late July, particularly in Southern Europe, according to Fastmarkets journalist Vlada Novokreshchenova.
Following the initial market disruption caused by the announcement of new import quotas under the EU's revised tariff-rate quota regime, buyers have developed a clearer understanding of their uptake, supporting a gradual return of transactional activity. A cargo of Turkish HRC was heard booked last week at €565-570 per tonne CFR for Southern Europe, inclusive of anti-dumping duty, while an Italian source cited fresh offers this week at €590 per tonne CFR including anti-dumping duty. Indian material was reported available at $645-655 per tonne CFR this week, following several cargoes that had previously cleared at $650-655 per tonne CFR.
Egyptian HRC was offered at around €600 per tonne CFR, compared with a cargo heard sold at €610-615 per tonne CFR several weeks prior. Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel hot-rolled coil import, CFR main port Southern Europe stood at €565-600 per tonne on July 29, down €5-15 per tonne from €570-615 per tonne on July 22. The corresponding Northern Europe assessment was €565-600 per tonne, down from €570-640 per tonne the prior week, reflecting the absence of fresh trading input in the region.
On a DDP basis, business remained concentrated in the South. An Egyptian supplier was heard offering DDP material at €720-730 per tonne in Southern Europe, with some deal hints unconfirmed at the time of publication. A cargo of Japanese coil was reported sold to Spain at €740 per tonne DDP.
Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel hot-rolled coil import, DDP Southern Europe was €700-740 per tonne on July 29, up from €655-715 per tonne the prior week, while the DDP Northern Europe equivalent was also assessed at €700-740 per tonne, up from €655-710 per tonne on July 22. AUSTRIA SUSTAINS PRODUCTION GROWTH IN JUNE Austria continued to expand crude steel output in June, with production reaching 663,767 tonnes, a 2.4% increase month-on-month and 11.7% higher year-on-year, according to data from worldsteel cited by Kallanish. The country retained its position as the 22nd largest steel producer globally during the month.
In the first half of the year, Austria produced 3.8 million tonnes of crude steel, compared with 3.65 million tonnes in the first six months of 2025. At the EU level, aggregate output rose 4.6% year-on-year to 10.8 million tonnes in June, while H1 production was 65.3 million tonnes versus 65.5 million tonnes in the same period of 2025. Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine announced plans for a second electric arc furnace at its Donawitz site, complementing an existing EAF scheduled to begin operations within approximately one year.
Earlier in 2026, the company secured aerospace sector orders worth approximately €1 billion over five years for its High Performance Metals Division, with production at Kapfenberg, Mürzzuschlag, and Brazilian subsidiary Villares Metals in Sumare. SPAIN'S ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY CHALLENGES GOES ANTIDUMPING MEASURES The Spanish Association of Electrical Equipment Manufacturers, known as AFBEL, has warned that the potential extension of antidumping duties on grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) could significantly raise transformer production costs and threaten European industrial competitiveness, according to Kallanish. The European Commission is currently assessing whether to extend existing antidumping measures on GOES imports from China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States, with current duties due to expire on 18 January 2027 unless a new review is initiated.
EU producers may request a review by 18 October 2026. AFBEL estimates that European GOES producers can supply only approximately half of total demand, with local supply covering just 27% of demand for higher-grade GOES used in energy-efficient transformers, leaving a shortfall of roughly 150,000 tonnes. Demand for GOES is projected to grow by approximately 10% over the next decade.
The association estimates that the measures could increase transformer production costs by up to 30% depending on equipment type and GOES content, with an estimated annual cost of up to €800 million for European industry and households. The EU transformer industry encompasses more than 80 plants and employs over 20,000 people. AFBEL general director Mar Duque stated that European industrial autonomy cannot be achieved by undermining manufacturers of critical infrastructure.
SALZGITTER LAUNCHES EAF DECARBONISATION AT HKM German steelmaker Salzgitter announced on July 29 that it has signed a contract with Tenova for the engineering, delivery and installation of an electric arc furnace at its Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann subsidiary in Duisburg. According to McCloskey/OPIS, the new facility will be Germany's largest EAF and the second largest in the European Union, with an annual capacity of 2.5 million tonnes and a planned production target of 2 million tonnes of green steel per year. The implementation phase is set to begin in August 2026 and is targeted for completion in 2029.
The furnace will be fed continuously with ferrous scrap or direct-reduced iron via conveyor belt, and will incorporate exhaust heat recovery to preheat scrap, further reducing emissions compared with conventional EAF operations. The project will receive €200 million in public funding from the German federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia under the Federal Funding for Industry and Climate Action programme. Salzgitter completed the acquisition of 100% of HKM's shares in the first half of July, finalising the transfer from Thyssenkrupp and Vallourec.
The company has previously achieved premiums of around €300 per tonne for low-CO2 hot-rolled coil from its trial plant, while the most recent spot deals for smaller lots of green HRC from other European steelmakers have been concluded at premiums of €150-180 per tonne. EC CARBON POLICY REFORM: ETS FREE ALLOCATION EXTENDED TO 2038 The European Commission presented a significant overhaul of its carbon policy framework in July 2026, with the centrepiece being a reform of the EU Emissions Trading System, as reported by McCloskey/OPIS journalist Benjamin Steven. The proposal, contained in a 17 July package alongside the Electrification Action Plan, seeks to better align the bloc's net zero commitments with the practical pace of industrial decarbonisation.
Under the proposed changes, the practice of free allocation of ETS allowances to energy-intensive industries will be extended beyond the current 2034 phase-out, with a 15% EU Allowances buffer introduced across the phase-out curve from 2028, effectively prolonging carbon leakage protection until 2038. However, free allocation will become conditional from 2031, requiring installations to have made firm commitments to decarbonisation transformation projects. Specifically, 80% of eligible allowances for the 2031-2035 period would require evidence of a final investment decision, with the remaining 20% released upon proof of construction or operational progress.
The reforms allow steelmakers to group installations under joint decarbonisation investment agreements, permitting one or more installations to satisfy the investment requirement on behalf of others, provided agreements are concluded prior to submission of 2031-2035 free allocation applications or by end of September 2029. The Commission characterised the adjusted framework as maintaining the ETS' role as an investment engine through a strong carbon price signal, while being better calibrated to the actual trajectory of domestic industrial transformation. The reforms follow the EU's European Steel and Metals Action Plan of 2025, which delivered most concretely on trade restrictions.
The new tariff-rate quota regime implemented from the start of July 2026 has been described by market sources as a new era for EU steel market accessibility, compounded by the definitive stage of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Source: eurometal.net