Local rebar and wire rod prices continued to climb across Europe in the week to Wednesday April 22, driven by cost inflation. At the same time, customers in most countries pushed back and limited purchases amid weak underlying demand and expectations of price declines in the near term.
Last week, mills in Italy announced price increases to €710-720 ($830-842) per tonne ex-works (EXW) in the north and up to €750 per tonne EXW in the south. While the market last week clearly signaled that these levels were not accepted by customers, the increases were gradually digested this week.
Market sources reported that in northern Italy, some bookings were concluded at €700-705 per tonne EXW, while deals in the south were heard at €720-725 per tonne EXW.
“It is true that mills are trying to push prices higher compared with last week, but the market still appears weak and participants are waiting to see how the situation develops over the coming days,” one buyer source said.
“At the moment, however, the general sentiment is cautious, as market participants are trying to understand whether the peak has already been reached or if the upward trend might continue in the coming weeks. In my view, customer inventories seem to be gradually decreasing, which could lead to a certain level of acceptance of the new price range going forward,” the buyer source added.
“Demand is not so good these days. Customers are concerned that €710 per tonne EXW represents a ceiling. Market views are divided: some expect prices to turn lower in May, while others believe that the uptrend could continue throughout the spring until the Persian Gulf war [the US-Iran conflict] ends and the situation stabilizes,” a trading source said.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Italy, moved accordingly to €700-725 per tonne on April 22, up from €670-710 per tonne on April 15.
In Spain, mills raised asking prices to €740-750 per tonne delivered (base size 16 mm), with the new levels gradually being accepted. Sales, however, were also heard at €720-730 per tonne delivered.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Spain, widened to €720-750 per tonne on April 22 from €725-745 per tonne on April 15.
Mesh-quality wire rod prices in Southern Europe also rose significantly.
In Italy, deals were heard within the range of €700-715 per tonne delivered during the assessment week, while in Spain, prices were reported within a wider range of €700-730 per tonne delivered.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality) domestic, delivered Southern Europe, rose to €700-730 per tonne on April 22 from €670-710 per tonne on April 15.
Price dynamics in northern Europe broadly mirrored the upbeat trend seen in southern markets.
In Germany, rebar was available in the range of €700-720 per tonne delivered, with sales heard toward the lower end of the range.
One source said that cut-and-bend mills in the country were pushing for prices significantly below €700 per tonne delivered, but this was not confirmed by other market participants, who said that such levels would not be workable given current scrap and electricity costs.
Additionally, a number of market sources noted that construction activity in the country was recovering after a strong winter, lending some support to demand.
In France, customers were said to be accepting €700 per tonne delivered, a level that was considered unworkable last week, sources noted.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €700-710 per tonne on April 22, up from €665-680 per tonne on April 15.
Wire rod prices in Northern Europe moved to €700 per tonne delivered, a development reflected in the corresponding weekly price assessment. Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €700 per tonne on April 22, up from €670-680 per tonne on April 15.
