果酱视频

In the fourth week of April 2025, German hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil prices held steady despite a growing sense of pessimism among market players. Despite suppliers maintaining well-booked order positions with long lead times, the market is in a muted state due to school holidays, low trading activity, and cautious buyer attitudes.

Key Takeaways:

• German HDG prices held steady in the fourth week of April despite bearish outlook
• Suppliers in Germany are well-booked with HDG lead times extending into summer months
• Buyers view current HDG offer prices as inflated compared to economic realities
• Residential construction approvals show mixed signals with potential bottoming out in multi-story buildings
• Infrastructure investment fund creates cautious optimism in construction sector
• Import competition remains limited due to trade barriers and safeguard measures
• Gap persists between supplier HDG offer prices and what buyers consider realistic

Despite underlying worries about future demand, there is still little trading activity on the German HDG market, and prices are staying the same. Comfortable order books with HDG delivery positions that extend into the summer are reported by suppliers in Germany and the Benelux region. Customers contend that the prices of the current HDG offer are out of touch with economic realities, which runs counter to this apparent strength.

German buyers consistently express that these prices don't reflect the actual market conditions, suggesting that weak demand will eventually force domestic HDG prices downward. This disconnects between supplier confidence and buyer caution represents a key tension in the current market landscape.

One of the biggest HDG consumers, the construction industry, sends out conflicting signals. The market may be bottoming out after a prolonged decline, as evidenced by the modest improvement in residential construction approvals for the December鈥揊ebruary period when compared to the prior year. Approvals for multi-story buildings, which make up a sizable amount of residential construction, have proven especially resilient. Family home approvals also showed a significant uptick in early 2025, despite the fact that these numbers come after a prolonged period of low monthly approvals.

Despite government announcements regarding a substantial special fund for infrastructure investment sparking some optimism, market participants remain cautious. Tim-Oliver M眉ller, managing director of Bauindustrie, emphasizes that the effectiveness of this investment will depend on including medium-sized enterprises and municipal governments in the distribution process to ensure diverse project allocation.

The German HDG market is anticipated to experience displaying downward pressure through the second quarter of 2025, according to 果酱视频, with prices possibly dropping by June if demand doesn't materialize. The present variation between buyer prudence and supplier optimism will probably close in Favor of market fundamentals, especially as the summer vacations draw near. Both the infrastructure investment fund's tangible implementation and increased trust in the residential construction industry are necessary for any significant recovery, and neither of these things seems likely to happen anytime soon. If order books start to thin, mills may need to modify their HDG pricing strategy by the end of Q2. It is unlikely that the market will truly stabilize until the fall when seasonal patterns usually boost construction activity.