German rebar pricing fluctuates minimally

The German rebar market is the subject of mixed commentary over whether mill pricing is higher, lower or about the same versus prior weeks, Kallanish hears. 

A southern German distributor has recently paid slightly more for an order than last time, dating back to late May, according to a manager of the company. The slight premium was within €10-20/tonne ($11-22), he details. Another observer based on the Ruhr concurs, as he heard of offers up to €650/t delivered ($726), which without the fixed size extra of €265 would mean a base price of €385/t.

A Lower Saxony manager dismisses such new peaks. In fact, he says that his latest deal for wire mesh was €5/t below the previous one at the beginning of summer. Overall, prices have hardly budged over the summer, he finds, hovering at €620/t delivered, or somewhat above.

That source reports that the distribution arm of the mill in question is nearly fully booked and close to rejecting new orders. A price discount under this scenario would be somewhat of a paradox, the manager concedes. “These are crazy times,” he states.

Such examples suggest that there is no reason to see a wide price movement across mills, be it up or down. Deviations from the average price this summer are influenced by the buyer’s circumstance and where it came from. The southern distributor may have had lower-priced alternatives from Italy in May/June and so could bargain for relatively good deals from German mills. This is not the case anymore, as “offers from Italy appear somewhat higher than from German mills,” he says.

Another distributor in a letter to customers flatly states that “it is unlikely that August will bring a change in prices.”

Christian Koehl Germany


kallanish.com