Long steel prices in Europe were stable or slightly lower, varying by region, in the week to Wednesday July 2.
In Northern Europe, rebar prices were largely unchanged, but demand was said to be slowing due to the approaching summer holiday period.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €615-640 ($726-755) per tonne delivered on July 2, static week on week.
Some of the highest prices were in Denmark, with some offers as high as €640-645 per tonne delivered. Market sources explained this by the lack of domestic supply and limited access to imports.
Prices in Germany were heard in a lower range of €615-630 per tonne delivered.
The cheapest prices were in the south of France, where sources reported a strong effect from supply out of Italy.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Italy, narrowed to €510-550 per tonne on July 2, from €500-560 per tonne on July 25.
Prices at the lower end of the range related to the north of the country, where availability of material is higher, while the higher end was for prices in the south of the country
Market sources reported that infrastructure development was driving demand in the south of Italy.
Wire rod
The latest price indications for mesh wire rod in Italy came in a wide range of €580-615 ($694-726) per tonne delivered, depending on supplier, which kept Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality) domestic, delivered Southern Europe, unchanged on July 2 at €580-615 per tonne.
In Northern Europe, meanwhile, prices softened over the week, with market sources estimating the workable price within the range of €600-610 per tonne delivered, with some suppliers saying that the upper end was sometimes hard to achieve.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality) domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €600-610 per tonne on July 2, down from €610-615 per tonne on June 25.
