The UK coil market remained under pressure from slower demand and elevated stocks in 

the week to Friday, sources said. 

Indian hot rolled for September-October arrival was being offered at GBP445-GBP448/mt 

DDP West Midlands, traders and a buyer said. 

This  was  cheaper  than  the best  domestic  prices, which  remained  around  GBP457-

GBP465/mt, sources said. 

Turkish material was offered at GBP470/mt DDP for September-October, one trader and

one buyer said. 

Most stockholders bemoaned softer outsell prices, which were having a pernicious impact 

on the market. 

"One order we  sent  out last week made a margin," a service  centre  source in the West 

Midlands said. 

He said he had lost hot rolled sheet business at GBP485/mt DDP on a couple of big order

s, when replacement HRC was landing around GBP500/mt. 

"I think people are liquidating stock and getting rid, people have got to sell it to pay for it. 

"There's no commercial sense in the marketplace and no forward prices that support the 

levels people are selling at," he added, suggesting June and July would be destocking m

onths as people tried to restore the supply and demand equilibrium. 

A trader added: "There's too much stock on the ground and it's not filtering through as qui

ckly as we want it to. Certainly I can still see a lot of it being round well into Q4." 

One trader  said service  centers had  created their  own  problem by  cutting prices to win 

business when demand was not there; they were working hard to sell as they were desper

ate to invoice discount, he said. 

"I don't think there's a massive amount booked for Q3-Q4, so the stock will work itself way 

through by the end of Q3," he added. 

Buyers continued to hold off as they expected to get cheaper prices in a week. 

"Stocks at the docks are possibly the highest they have ever been but again forward orders 

particularly with no more Chinese  coming in  are attenuated, the  stocks will mostly be down 

by October-November," another service centre source said.