Poland’s rebar prices soften amid subdued demand

Rebar prices in Poland dipped again in the week to Friday October 14 amid sluggish construction demand, sources told Fastmarkets.
Polish producers were prepared to offer discounts during the week to spur buying activity.

Offers for small tonnages were reported at 4,050 ($816) zloty per tonne cpt – about 4,000-4,020 zloty per tonne exw – on Thursday, sources said. That is down from 4,100 zloty per tonne delivered targeted in the first half of this week.

Trading activity improved slightly toward the end of the week, though traded volumes remained low, sources said.

“The beginning of the week was a disaster, but now demand picked up a bit. Maybe buyers have accepted that prices will not go any lower,” a trading source told Fastmarkets.

In general, buyers do not expect domestic rebar prices to slide below 4,000 zloty per tonne exw this month, but some downward correction is possible in November.

Sustained weakness in the construction industry – the key consumer of rebar – was cited as the main factor depressing the market.

“The problem is still the same. There is a shortage of projects in the construction sector. There are a few, but not enough to push [rebar] demand up,” another trading source said.

Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland was 4,000-4,070 zloty per tonne on Friday, down by 30-70 zloty per tonne from 4,070-4,100 zloty per tonne a week earlier.

The assessment was based on deals, lower offers and market sources’ estimates of achievable prices.

In the secondary market, steel rebar was traded at 4,070-4,100 zloty per tonne cpt during the week to Friday.

Published by: Julia Bolotova