As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €630-660 ($663-694) per tonne on Wednesday, up week on week by €10 per tonne from €620-650 per tonne.
Estimates were reported in the region of €630-660 per tonne, with workable offers heard at €650-660 per tonne. Offers higher than €660 per tonne were not considered workable by the wider market.
Meanwhile, deals were reported at €640 per tonne.
Production stoppages across Northern Europe have resulted in greatly reduced supply, allowing mills to keep prices high despite the persistently low demand, Fastmarkets heard.
According to data collected by the European Commission, more than 50% of primary production capacity in Europe has been idled since 2021.
Most mills in Germany have stopped rebar production altogether since the beginning of the year, Fastmarkets heard.
And EU steel output has been declining since 2017, from 160 million tonnes then to 126 million tonnes in 2023.
Input costs have remained high, with scrap prices in Turkey increasing amid below-optimal scrap flows from the US and improved domestic consumption by local mills, Fastmarkets heard on March 19.
As a result, Turkish scrap prices have increased. Fastmarkets’ calculation of its daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was $375.67 per tonne on Wednesday, up week on week from $366.54 per tonne.
The weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €610-630 per tonne on March 19, stable week on week.
Trades at €630-635 per tonne for wire rod in Northern Europe were reported after the pricing deadline.
Wire rod imports into Northern Europe from Tunisia were reported at €620 per tonne on March 19.
European Commission Metals Action Plan
A European Steel and Metals Action Plan, published by the European Commission on March 19, outlined the major challenges facing the region’s steel industry as well as a strategy which could support that industry in its attempts to remain competitive.
The intention of the plan was to outline sector-specific steps to support the struggling European steel industry, with the main challenges seen to be “high energy costs, exposure to an [unequal] playing field in international competition, decarbonization investment needs, and regulatory burden.”
According to the action plan, the EU’s share of global steel production has come down by 7-8% over the past decade, while countries in Asia and the Middle East having massively expanded their capacities.
Subsidies distorting trade, better access to raw materials and lower energy costs in Asia and the Middle East were among the difficulties faced by Europe.
“As a result, just for steel, in 2024, global overcapacity was estimated to be more than four-and-a-half times the EU’s yearly consumption,” according to a draft version of the action plan seen by Fastmarkets.
Strategies that could support the steel sector, according to the plan, included extending and intensifying trade policies; amending the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to address the problem of carbon leakage for CBAM goods exported from the EU to third countries; and increased access to clean, renewable energy.
