Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, cpt Poland was 2,500-2,530 zloty ($608-615) per tonne on Friday, decreasing by 20 zloty per tonne, from 2,520-2,550 zloty per tonne on November 8.
One Polish mill was heard offering rebar at 2,600 zloty per tonne CPT, but this was considered unrealistically high by market participants.
“They sold good volumes a few weeks ago and now they are busy to complete old orders. That is why they can allow their offers to be kept at higher levels,” a distributor source told Fastmarkets, adding that no one was buying at this price.
Other Polish mills offered rebar at 2,500-2,530 zloty per tonne CPT, with these price levels available even for small volumes of one or two trucks, Fastmarkets understands.
Fastmarkets’ sources estimated the workable market level at 2,500-2,530 zloty per tonne CPT.
But demand for rebar in Poland remained low due to seasonal factors and continuing economic headwinds, Fastmarkets understands.
“The construction season is behind us. The weather is colder with more rain. The construction sites still work, of course, but they are buying smaller volumes than before,” the distributor source told Fastmarkets.
“Demand is weaker – it can be seen especially in the cut-and-bend sector. Projects, which were planned for this year, started a few months ago, but now there are no new projects on the horizon,” a second distributor source said.
A weaker zloty has also contributed to the price decline because it has made rebar imports more expensive, with local mills keeping their offers slightly lower to maintain their competitive advantage, Fastmarkets heard.
“In the last few weeks, the Polish currency is weaker against the euro. This makes imports more expensive,” the first distributor source told Fastmarkets. “Polish mills see this and keep the rebar price at slightly lower levels.”
On November 15, the exchange rate was 4.33 zloty to €1, according to Oanda.com. This compares with 4.35 zloty to €1 at the start of the month, on November 1.
On October 1, €1 was exchanged for 4.28 Polish zloty.
On imports, Italy and Germany have not been actively offering rebar in the Polish market recently, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
The freight cost from Italy to Poland was at least €60 ($63) per tonne, and in light of the weaker Polish zloty, all these factors made imports from Italy uncompetitive.
The latest deals for imported rebar from Germany to Poland were heard at €590 per tonne CPT, industry sources told Fastmarkets. These transactions took place at the end of October.
This price level would be uncompetitive now compared with domestic prices because converted to the local currency it would be 2,556 zloty per tonne CPT.
