French rebar deadlock deepens

Quiet rebar market activity and a frustratingly low volume of orders are persisting in Europe, with the French market no exception.

Activity is slowing further for both domestic sales and exports to other European countries. Consumption seems to have frozen and new construction projects are either being postponed, slowed down or not being financed.

The market rule at present is to buy back-to-back or just hold off purchases due to uncertainty and low visibility. The French private residential construction sector is slowing more than in other European countries due to high interest rates and financial institutions tightening their credit requirements.

Private residential construction permits have been falling this year together with the number of new building sites. The French federation of construction companies, Fédération Française du Bâtiment (FFB), reported slow activity in Q1.

“The housing crisis, announced several quarters ago, is intensifying. Year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, the collapse in construction permits is accelerating further, to -31.0%, and the number of new building sites are really starting to feel the impact, with a drop of 12.5%,” FFB reports. Its president, Olivier Salleron, told local press there is an approaching “catastrophe” and property developers are in a quandary.

With demand weak and stocks high at distributors and construction companies, domestic rebar prices are inevitably falling month-on-month by some €40-50/tonne ($43-54), with producers around Europe reducing capacity utilisation, Kallanish hears. Values are at between €670-700/t delivered, depending on volume and client, and April sales volumes were reported to be very low by distributors.

Natalia Capra France