Sources said that demand from the construction sector, the main consumer of rebar, remained low.
Polish mills kept their official offers unchanged at 2,900 zloty ($727) per tonne CPT, which nets back to about 2,870 zloty per tonne ex-works, sources told Fastmarkets. But some buyers were heard to have been offered discounts for larger volumes at 2,850 zloty per tonne CPT, which nets back to about 2,830 zloty per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ sources estimated tradable market prices were at similar levels in the range of 2,850-2,900 zloty per tonne CPT, which nets back to about 2,830-2,870 zloty per tonne ex-works.
Some deals were heard to have been concluded at slightly lower prices in the range of 2,807-2,894 zloty per tonne CPT, which nets back to about 2,787-2,864 zloty per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Poland was 2,787-2,870 zloty per tonne on Friday, up by 7-50 zloty per tonne week on week from 2,780-2,820 zloty per tonne on February 16.
The assessment reflected the deals heard in the market and buyers’ estimations of achievable prices.
In the secondary market, rebar was traded in the range of 2,780-2,830 zloty per tonne CPT, sources told Fastmarkets.
Some offers of imported material from Italy were heard at €650 ($704) per tonne CPT.
A distributor source told Fastmarkets that even lower offer levels were available for imported rebar from European producers in the range of €635-640 per tonne CPT.
Market participants in Poland shared mainly negative expectations for the future. The weak activity of the construction sector was the major reason for concern.
“I cannot see [any signs of] a pick-up in the construction sector, especially in the infrastructure subsector,” a buyer source told Fastmarkets.
“Demand is poor. The construction sector should be more active, but the last few weeks were rainy in Poland,” a distributor source told Fastmarkets. The distributor source added that buyers purchase only the quantities they really need.
“Buyers are in a wait-and-see mode now,” the source said.
The distributor source expressed hope that the situation would improve with the days getting longer and the weather warmer.
“Demand [is] average to poor. All bigger distributors keep away from stocking up, counting on better prices soon,” a second distributor source told Fastmarkets.
Published by: Darina Kahramanova
