Rebar
The Polish domestic rebar prices increased amid limited supply and improved demand.
One of the key producers in Poland is closed for maintenance until the beginning of November. They were currently carrying out old orders and selling rebar from their stocks, sources said.
In addition, some market sources were moderately optimistic about rebar demand.
“The construction sector has been definitely doing better since the middle of September, and we can also see a slight uptick in the infrastructural demand,” a distributor source told Fastmarkets. According to the source, the rebar prices will remain stable in October because mills are determined not to lower prices, even for bids for 5,000-8,000 tonnes.
“Final demand is improving,” a buyer source told Fastmarkets, due to the more active construction sector and some restocking.
A producer source was more pessimistic, saying that the construction sector remained weak overall and the pick up in demand was only temporary due to the restart of some projects that had previously been put on hold.
Polish mills maintained rebar offers at 2,800-2,850 zloty ($618-629) per tonne CPT, which nets back to 2,780-2,830 zloty per tonne ex-works. Offers were broadly flat week on week.
The market, however, seemed more likely to accept offers this week, with some pick up in trading reported due to restocking, sources said.
According to another source, the workable market level was slightly lower at 2,800 zloty per tonne CPT, which nets back to 2,780 zloty per tonne ex-works.
Another sources reported sales of limited rebar tonnages at 2,840 zloty per tonne ex-works, but Fastmarkets did not include this price in the final assessment because it was not widely confirmed by sources.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Poland was 2,780-2,830 zloty per tonne on October 13, up by 30-80 zloty per tonne from 2,700-2,800 zloty per tonne the week before.
For rebar imports, offers from Germany and Hungary to Poland were heard at €600 ($635) per tonne CPT. Offers from Italy to Poland were reported at slightly higher levels of €610 per tonne CPT.
Wire rod
The Polish mills maintained wire rod offers at 2,900-3,000 zloty per tonne CPT in the week to October 13, unchanged from the previous week.
One distributor source told Fastmarkets that one producer attempted to raise its offer to 3,100 zloty per tonne CPT, but this was not accepted by the market. According to trading sources, the workable level was still about 2,800-2,850 zloty per tonne CPT.
Another source estimated the workable price level a bit higher, at 2,800-2,900 zloty per tonne CPT. They also heard deals at 2,850 zloty per tonne CPT during the assessment week. This estimates of the workable market levels were supported by most sources that spoke to Fastmarkets.
Demand for wire rod in Poland, however, remained moderate.
“The demand now is slightly better than in September, but only slightly,” a distributor source.
Some sources suggested that the recent uptick was due to some restocking, and overall activity would slow down again later in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“The lack of consumption remains the main concern,” a source said.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (drawing quality), domestic, delivered Poland was 2,800-2,900 zloty per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the previous week.
For imports, overseas wire rod suppliers to Poland also attempted to push up prices.
Notably, Italian-origin drawing-quality wire rod was offered to Poland at €630-640 per tonne CPT, but limited sales were reported at that levels.
Offers from Ukraine to Poland for mesh-quality wire rod were at €605-610 CPT.
Published by: Julia Bolotova, Darina Kahramanova
