Long steel prices in Northern Europe edged higher and producers with reasonably filled order books for January delivery are now looking for further increases in response to rising scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 17.
In contrast the market in Southern Europe remained relatively quiet, they added.
A supplier from Germany said trading had been “pretty good,” recently, which had allowed mills to fill their January order books.
The latest rebar sales were done at €600-615 per tonne delivered, while wire rod sales were closed at €590-600 per tonne delivered, with both reflected in Fastmarkets’ relevant weekly assessments.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, delivered Northern Europe was €600-615 per tonne on December 17, up from €595-600 per tonne on December 10.
The corresponding weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality) domestic, delivered Northern Europe, narrowed up to €590-600 per tonne on December 17, from €580-600 per tonne on December 10.
Following sufficient sales and considering increased scrap costs and its reduced availability, mills in the region intend to raise long steel prices further after teh holidays, which should help them improve margins, Fastmarkets understands.
“Nobody is making money with the current margins,” the producer said.
In Italy, a price rally that started in the second half of October has finally cooled off, with Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Italy unchanged at €560-600 per tonne ex-works on December 17, reflecting three weeks of inactivity.
The Italian market was said to be already in holiday mode and is not expected to revive until early in January, with market participants largely bearish for the beginning of 2026.
“Producers are not so optimistic regarding 2026, ” a trader told Fastmarkets.
“Maybe we will see a demand decrease, due to the end of some big public [construction] jobs. But the private sector continues to be weak, so we can’t have big expectations up to the new year,” the trader added.
Fastmarkets price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality) domestic, delivered Southern Europe was unchanged at €570-590 per tonne ex-works on December 17.
