This week started off slow after the 4 July holiday fell on a Tuesday last week, with many taking off most if not all of the holiday week.

US hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) prices continued to increase after the holiday week.

"The Covid inflation shock is over for PPI," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macro. "The Fed does not need to hike further."

EU hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports increased sharply in May, according to Global Trade Tracker data, with all major suppliers lifting cleared volumes.

The tender result slightly exceeded initial expectations, which ranged between ¥49,000-49,500/t fas, but was still in a reasonable range if the buyer needs the volume, a Japanese trader said.

Liberty Steel has won the bidding process for Hungarian steelmaker Dunaferr.

In an interview, Omega said that the awareness of ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) initiatives is relatively low in Southeast Asia’s steel industry.

“I’m not too worried, but you also can’t kid yourself for too long. The supply story is still there, but there are more and more demand questions emerging,” one trader in the region said.