Northwest European rebar prices softened in the week to 22 July, due to low trading activity and a decline in ferrous scrap prices.
Lack of trading activity offset the impact of ArcelorMittal’s announcement of a EUR25/t price increase for long steel products. Sources stressed that the increase mainly concerns sections and wire rod, as the steelmaker is less involved in the rebar segment.
Offers and the few deals for rebar in the region have been heard at EUR670-690/t delivered, with the majority of sources reporting prices in the EUR670-680/t delivered range.
Further contributing to the negative short-term sentiment, sources reported transactions at EUR650/t delivered. The details of these trades, including their origin, terms and repeatability, could not be confirmed. While this is likely to be a special deal and such prices are not available to a broader group of buyers, the rumours are not improving market sentiment.
“Scrap is slightly down and this is used to explain the decrease in price. The problem is the low EU demand,” a distributor said.
European steelmakers have reduced their July ferrous scrap purchase prices by around EUR20-25/t compared with June.
Market participants expect both demand and prices to recover in September, when buyers return from the summer holidays, mills resume normal operations following seasonal maintenance, and steel consumption typically recovers.
| Weekly European long steel markers | |||
| EUR/t | Term | 22-Jul-26 | Change |
| Northwest Europe DEL rebar | DEL | 675.00 | -5.00 |
| Northwest Europe CFR rebar | CFR | 570.00 | 0.00 |
Author: Maria Tanatar
