European mills raised offers for EU domestic steel sections Wednesday, but buyers waited before re-entering the market after concluding deals at lower levels last week.

The Platts European medium sections price (category 1, S235 JR) was assessed at Eur525/mt delivered Wednesday, up Eur7.50 from Eur517.50/mt a week earlier.

“We’re waiting to see what happens with scrap prices as we are well-stocked with sections, so we won’t buy for now. We would be looking more for January delivery,” a Benelux distributor source told Platts.

European mills raised steel sections offers to Eur530-540/mt this week as steel scrap pricing for November contracts settled higher across European regions, albeit to varying extents.

Prices for November contracts in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany rose by Eur30-35/mt, directly reflecting a corresponding $35/mt monthly increase in the bellwether Turkish import scrap price.

S&P Global Platts assessed Northwest European shredded scrap delivered to the mill at Eur230/mt Monday.

“All producers need to raise prices, as they need to recover their margin. Stocks at end-users are generally low because of the negative market sentiment, but buyers are looking more to restock with January delivery rather than for end of year,” a mill source said.

A similar trend was seen in EU domestic merchant bar, where Platts assessed the November monthly price at Eur465-Eur470/mt delivered, down Eur15/mt from Eur480-Eur485/mt delivered in October.

But some higher offers at Eur475-Eur480/mt delivered were reported by market participants Tuesday, with European mills looking to raise prices across all long steel products.

-- Viral Shah