Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €610-645 ($641-678) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from December 4.
A scrap cargo ship crash on Sunday on the Moselle River in Muden, Germany, has caused damage to a lock and a major blockage of 70 ships on their way to the Rhine.
Fastmarkets understands that it would take months to repair, disrupting steel trade flows and potentially raising transport costs for the 8.1 million tonnes of goods that move through the Moselle route.
These goods include ores, steel raw materials, mineral products, iron and steel products, fuels and other commodities.
International scrap prices have already risen as a result of the event, sources said, and it halted a lengthy downturn in prices in Turkey’s bellwether market.
Fastmarkets calculated the index for steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, at $339.45 per tonne on Wednesday, up by $14.45 per tonne day on day.
The rise is likely due to the expectation that alternative and costlier transport methods to ship scrap metal and other goods will need to be taken, such as via truck and rail.
While rebar prices in northern Europe increased in the previous pricing session and sources said mills are pushing for higher market levels, one market participant said this could only be achieved for urgently needed material.
Meanwhile, wire rod prices in the region were also stable in the pricing period, with the market remaining flat for over a month since November 13.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €600-610 per tonne on Wednesday, stable week on week.
