“Mills are trying to put prices up, because they have to improve earnings before the year’s end,” a market source said.
Mills had increased their offers to €565-570 ($654-660) per tonne ex-works in the week to November 5, but only managed to secure deals within the range of €540-560 per tonne ex-works.
Offers rose again in the week to Wednesday, to €580-600 per tonne ex-works, while deals were reported in the range of €540-570 per tonne ex-works.
“The uptrend seems to be real,” the market source said. “Pittini’s EAF fire is beginning to have an effect on sales.”
Pittini Group’s flagship Ferriere Nord long steel plant at Osoppo in northeastern Italy was damaged by a fire in late October, which led to the shutdown of the facility’s electric-arc furnace (EAF).
The site is expected to resume operations in late November-early December. Meanwhile, the company is trying to secure billet supply from several European mills to keep its rolling activities on track.
“At the moment, customers are still in wait-and-see mode; but we think they’ll start to buy again in the next few days,” the source added.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Italy was €540-570 per tonne on Wednesday, widening upward by €10 per tonne from €540-560 per tonne on November 5.
