ArcelorMittal announces higher offer prices for long steel in Europe: sources

ArcelorMittal has increased its offer prices for all long steel products across Europe by €40 ($44) per tonne, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 10.

The company has made the move to offset increasing production costs, Fastmarkets understands.

Sources said the new prices were effective immediately and follow last week’s announcement of a similar hike in ArcelorMittal’s European flat steel prices.

But the long steel market in Europe has been struggling in recent months with low demand from the construction sector – the key consumer of these products – putting significant downward pressure on domestic prices, Fastmarkets understands.

In Poland, for example, domestic rebar was recently on offer at 2,530 zloty ($645) per tonne CPT, sources told Fastmarket, with deals even completed at lower levels.

ArcelorMittal is one of the key long steel suppliers in the Polish market.

Polish domestic rebar prices have been gradually falling since the middle of July. Usually, the long steel market slows down in the summer period, and a price rebound is seen in September when construction activity picks up again. But weak demand from the construction sector in September means that prices have continued to fall.

In Fastmarkets’ latest weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Poland, on October 4, prices dropped to 2,500-2,530 zloty ($637-645) per tonne, down by 70-75 zloty per tonne from 2,570-2,605 zloty per tonne on September 27.

The average price for the third quarter of 2024 was 2,672 zloty per tonne CPT, compared with 2,800 zloty per tonne CPT in the first quarter.

A lower prices were also seen in the Polish market for low-carbon drawing quality wire rod. Before the ArcelorMittal announcement, the material was on offer at 2,700-2,750 zloty per tonne CPT.

And Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel wire rod (drawing quality), domestic, delivered Poland, was 2,650-2,750 zloty per tonne on October 4, decreasing by 50 zloty per tonne from 2,700-2,800 zloty per tonne on September 27.

The average price for Polish low-carbon drawing quality wire rod for the third quarter was 2,808 zloty per tonne CPT, compared with 2,913 zloty per tonne in the first quarter.

Market participants shared mixed expectations on whether European buyers would accept the new higher prices.

“After China returned to the steel market following the Golden Week holiday, the Asian import offers of long steel products have been uncompetitive in the European market. This could potentially support a price rebound because buyers will mainly rely on domestic material,” a buyer source in Northern Europe told Fastmarkets.

But other sources said that a sustainable uptrend in European long steel prices remained unlikely.

“Demand remains very weak. Thus, the Polish prices would probably stabilize around their current levels and will stop [falling]”, a distributor source in Poland told Fastmarkets.

Published by: Julia BolotovaDarina Kahramanova

fastmarkets.com