Polish rebar prices slide again, but may be nearing bottom; some mills try to push for increases

Polish rebar producers were seeking higher prices amid rising energy costs in the week to Friday November 25, but buyers held back from making any purchases, sources told Fastmarkets.

A steel mill in Poland was heard to have pushed its rebar price up to 3,700 zloty ($819) per tonne delivered (about 3,650 zloty per tonne EXW) this past week, up from 3,450-3,500 zloty per tonne delivered in the first half of November.

The increase was due to rising energy prices, market sources said.

The average wholesale electricity price in Poland was 646.3 zloty per MWh in October, but prices have risen throughout November, exceeding 750 zloty per MWh, according to market sources.

But rebar buyers were skeptical about any price rise, considering the slow demand from end-use markets and the approaching holiday season.

During the week, transactions for domestic rebar in Poland were reported at 3,250-3,300 zloty per tonne EXW.

Another mill in the country reported offers at 3,300-3,400 zloty per tonne delivered, which net back to about 3,250-2,350 zloty per tonne EXW.

Local mills were also heard to still have December volumes to sell.

As a result, Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland was 3,250-3,350 zloty per tonne on Friday, down by 50-100 zloty per tonne from 3,300-3,450 zloty per tonne a week earlier.

Trading has picked up a bit since last week, with distributors starting to inquire for first-quarter delivery rebar.

In general, market sources believe that rebar prices in Poland have touched a floor and even expected a slight rebound before the year-end.

Published by: Julia Bolotova