Northwestern European mills are gearing up for another rebar price hike but have yet to announce it. Unlike most Italian rebar makers, the northwestern mills are still withholding announcements, using last week’s Wire + Tube trade fair in Düsseldorf as orientation for the next step, observers say.
“My last base price offer was still €400/tonne [$473] from March,” says a Dutch manager who plans to buy several thousand tonnes and held various talks at the fair. He and others expect an upward move by €30-40 going forward, but mills have so far not been clear. “They told me they’d need some more time; it’s a difference if you hear it [offer] in a chat, or get it on paper,” he tells Kallanish.
The market is currently suspended between rising production costs for mills and a sustained reluctance in downstream manufacturing and construction industries to decide on investment. The situation has worsened with the start of the war in Iran.
A couple of German sources still believe in the €400/t quote, simply because they have not heard different yet, as mills remain silent. But others dismiss that, seeing €430/t as the next realistic step; some even suggest that offers could reach €450/t.
One Austrian participant considers €450 to be too high, but is also preparing for €430-440. “I expect mills to come out clearly this week after the Wire fair,” he says. It would be unusual for northern mills to stay below Italian offers, which at the same price figure are effectively higher, as they quote ex-works, while the northern offers are quoted delivered.
One Austrian mill is seen offering halfway, with its latest offer of €420. However, that mill has since last year quoted an exceptional size extra for standard gauge 12mm, moved from €265 up to €280. Therefore, its final delivered price of €700 is already at the mark targeted from south to north.
