Rebar makers active on the German market have repeated their attempts to increase prices, as expected, but buyers are still cautious as to whether these will bring the market forward.
So far, buyers would still see the former base price of €350/tonne ($413/t) as the current level, translating to €615/t delivered, including €265/t for size extras and expect only small increases on deals going forward.
One international mill group was heard going for €20-30/t extra for its products. According to a central German manager, domestic mills confine themselves to €15-20/t for the moment, which is little above the increase of scrap prices in January.
“Mills have come out of hibernation with offer prices of €360-365/t, but this is only the first call. We still need to get a feel for how the economy does and for construction to come back,” he tells Kallanish.
He and others do not see the activity that would give grounds for an elevated price level. According to another source, new offers for wire mesh are correspondingly at €460/t base. “I think it will be late February before a new price structure emerges,” he says.
So far, cold weather and snow still prevent construction activity in various regions from picking up. This is the case in the east, but also in parts of central to northern Germany, where snow is rare. In the west, however, temperatures have been much friendlier lately.
