Metinvest is seeking a new financial or industrial partner for its €3.2 billion green steel mill project in Piombino, Italy, developed by its joint venture Metinvest Adria, to reduce financial exposure and improve bankability amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The electric arc furnace (EAF) facility is designed to have an annual production capacity of over 2.7 million metric tons of hot rolled coils (HRC). The project has already secured significant institutional backing, including €285 million in incentives from Invitalia and an additional €92 million from the Italian Ministry of Enterprises for port infrastructure. The potential entry of a new investor is intended to strengthen the project's risk profile, ensuring the successful execution of one of Europe's largest low-emission steel production facilities without altering the original industrial scope.

[SMM Daily HRC Trading] On July 6, the total daily trading volume of hot rolled coils from sample enterprises in SMM’s four cities (Shanghai, Lecong, Tianjin, Ningbo) was 12,920 mt, up 1,370 mt or 12.3% DoD, -22.59% calendar YoY, and +22.70% lunar YoY.

In yesterday's [SMM Analysis] EU Steel Tariff Wall Doubles to 50%: Reconstructing the New Quota System & In-Depth Analysis of 1A HRC, SMM deeply analyzed the brutal allocation logic of the EU's new 18.35 million tonnes quota. When the "50% tariff wall" and the "melting and pouring" rules completely block traditional tax-free export paths, the global steel supply chain is undergoing a forced reshuffle. Today, we shift our perspective to the ripple effects and macro-level forecasts of this storm.

On 1 July 2026, the EU replaced the steel safeguard measures implemented since 2018 with a significantly stricter import quota system—this is not merely a continuation of the old policy, but a complete reconstruction of its underlying logic: the core objective has upgraded from "preventing trade diversion" to "targeted defense against high carbon and excess capacity."

This week, large-sample Ningbo HRC inventory was 332,000 mt, down 4,000 mt or 1.10% WoW, and up 17.07% YoY on a lunar calendar basis.

On June 12, the combined sample enterprise hot rolled coil daily trading volume for SMM's four cities (Shanghai, Lecong, Tianjin, Ningbo) totaled 14,660 mt, up 1,440 mt, or 10.1%, day-on-day, and up 35.74% YoY on a solar calendar basis and 9.40% YoY on a lunar calendar basis.