ArcelorMittal today announced a €440/t ex-works base price for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the northwest European market, buyers told Argus.

Japanese auto manufacturer Mazda is planning to restart two-shift production at all of its four domestic assembly plants in July to gradually restore output from Covid-19 lows.

Spot prices for flat-rolled steel in the US fell again this week as mills struggled to book new spot orders.

The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) is forecasting a 25pc drop in new passenger car sales in the EU this year as result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Steelmakers are still expected to purchase another 50,000-100,000t of July-shipment deep-sea scrap, but almost all of their requirements have been met.

In the week ending on June 20, 2020, domestic raw steel production was 1,224,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 54.6 percent.

Japan's biggest carmaker Toyota Motor will maintain domestic production cuts next month but expects its July car output to recover from June's low.

Non-prime steel or second-grade steel is not tested as per the relevant standards specification.