Steel rebar prices strengthen in Northern Europe as mills revise extras
The fact that two mills in the region revised their costs for extras, amid increased production costs, was the key reason for the uptick in prices.
Extras normally remain stable for years, and are added to the base price, which is normally liquid. But the extras on rebar were increased this week by the two producers by €10-30 ($12-35) per tonne, depending on the diameter, according to documents seen be Fastmarkets.
The average extra cost on rebar in diameters 8-32mm was currently slightly above €272 per tonne, while the base price from both suppliers was said to be €370 per tonne. This would give a total of €642 ($749) per tonne as an initial effective offer price on a delivered basis, according to market sources.
Basic prices are normally negotiable, but some sources on the customers’ side said that the new asking prices were workable although no new bookings had been heard by the time of publication.
A seller source, meanwhile, estimated workable prices in Germany and Belgium at €630-635 per tonne delivered, versus €620-625 per tonne delivered at the end of July.
While prices from local producers within the region increased, most recent offers of Polish rebar into Germany were heard at €610-615 per tonne delivered. This was stable week on week, but up from €600-610 per tonne at the end of July.
The price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Poland, trended consistently downward in July, with no supportive demand.
Consequently, Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment of the price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, widened upward to €600-635 per tonne on August 13 from €600-630 per tonne on August 6.
No Italian rebar offers were heard in Northern Europe, nor in the domestic Italian sector, where most market participants were on holiday or taking a maintenance break.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Italy, was €570-610 per tonne on August 13, stable week on week.
But a North European source said that the rise in extras in the northern region could trigger a revision of extras by Italian mills after the holidays.
Wuppermann expands calculation model for CO2 footprint
German steel processor group Wuppermann has widened its calculation model for CO2 emissions, WTopCarb, which it introduced in 2023 for hot-dipped galvanized strip, to cover its other products.
WTopCarb serves to calculate the carbon footprint of individual steel products and confirm it by means of a certificate. Its calculation methodology was verified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (UMSICHT). It covers the emissions of the most important input materials, hot strip and zinc, the galvanizing process itself, as well as transport and packaging.
This model has now been expanded beyond Wuppermann’s mainstay of galvanized strip, to also cover tubes and profiles, Kallanish hears. The expansion of the calculation model was again reviewed and confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT in 2025, Wuppermann notes.
Following the extension, the calculation methodology is now divided into the following product groups. With WProtect, a high-performance film is additionally applied to the hot-dip coated steel strip with strip widths from 600 mm; WTopCor has a high-performance corrosion protection made from a zinc-magnesium alloy with low CO2 emissions.
Tubes includes black and pickled tubes as well as tubes with zinc or zinc-magnesium coating with different cross-sections and diameter; Profiles are pickled, as well as profiles with zinc or zinc-magnesium coating with different cross-sections.
Christian Koehl Germany
British Steel supplies steel for cable factory in Scotland
UK-based steelmaker British Steel has announced that it has played a pivotal role in constructing one of Scotland’s most significant renewable energy infrastructure projects – a £350 million subsea cable factory at the Port of Nigg, operated by Sumitomo Electric U.K. Power Cables Ltd.
UK-based steelmaker British Steel has announced that it has played a pivotal role in constructing one of Scotland’s most significant renewable energy infrastructure projects – a £350 million subsea cable factory at the Port of Nigg, operated by Sumitomo Electric U.K. Power Cables Ltd.
The company has supplied over 2,000 mt of structural steel sections for the facility, which will produce high-voltage subsea power cables critical for offshore wind farms and grid connections.
Construction progress and scope
The project is well underway, with steelwork installation for the first of four planned buildings already in progress. The fabrication and erection of the steel structure are being carried out by the UK-based subcontractor BHC, which also handles metal decking, concrete topping, cladding, and intumescent fire protection coatings before delivery to the site.
Once completed, the factory, due to open in 2026, is expected to create around 330 jobs across the entire supply chain, significantly boosting the Scottish Highlands economy.
Green steel market steady amid summer break, but CBAM looms large for 2026
The summer holiday period was in full swing across Europe, so trading for green steel was close to zero.
“Green steel is still a niche market [in Europe] and during vacation period there is almost no trading going on,” one trading source in the Benelux region told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets’ methodology defines European green flat steel as steel produced with Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions at a maximum of 0.8 tonne of CO2 per tonne of steel.
Buyers estimated tradable values for green flat products at €100-120 ($116.50-139.80) per tonne, while sellers indicated €170-200 per tonne. No fresh transactions were reported.
Fastmarkets’ assessment of the green steel domestic, flat-rolled, differential to HRC index, exw Northern Europe was €120-170 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged week on week.
Fastmarkets’ assessment of the flat steel reduced carbon emissions differential, exw Northern Europe was also unchanged at €40-60 per tonne on Thursday.
For steel produced in blast furnaces with reduced carbon emissions of 1.4-1.8 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel, offers for premiums were indicated at €60-70 per tonne during the assessment week. Buyers’ estimates of tradeable values were €40-50 per tonne.
Sources expect little change in the market until the end of August.
But several sources told Fastmarkets that overseas flat steel suppliers were exploring options of selling their products with reduced carbon emissions content to Europe.
“CBAM is just around the corner and suppliers from Asia are testing waters with green plate, slab, hot-rolled coil offers. However, a lack of clarity regarding CBAM, even just months ahead of the implementation, remains a stumbling block,” a German trader told Fastmarkets.
A public consultation on CBAM, launched by the European Commission in July, will be closed on August 26.
It is aimed at refining the framework and closing potential loopholes, with final legislative proposals amending CBAM expected in the fourth quarter of 2025.
European HRC market muted amid summer lull, religious holidays
In Northern Europe, only the Netherlands remained working on Friday, while all other countries celebrated Mary’s Assumption.
Market participants in the Netherlands reported that offers still varied within the range of €590-610 ($687.37-710.67) per tonne ex-works.
Their estimates of workable prices remained within the range of €550-580 per tonne ex-works, in line with recent deals heard in the market.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was €569.17 per tonne on Thursday, down by €0.41 per tonne from €569.58 per tonne on August 14.
The Northern European index was down by €6.46 per tonne week on week, but up by €21.67 per tonne month on month.
The Italian market was also silent due to the traditional holidays and maintenance periods in August.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Italy was €537.50 per tonne on Friday, stable day on day.
The Italian index was down by €13.75 per tonne week on week, but up by €13.54 per tonne month on month.
Prices for domestic HRC in Central Europe showed signs of growth this week, despite sluggish demand during the holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets.
“At the moment, the market remains very calm, but we are seeing slight increases in prices,” a distributor source told Fastmarkets.
The source added that “little capacity” caused by the closure of some blast furnaces in the region contributed to the price increase.
This week, offers were heard hovering at €545-565 per tonne ex-works, compared with offers at €540-565 per tonne ex-works heard at the end of July.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Central Europe was €545-565 per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing upward by €10 from €535-565 per tonne the previous week.