Prices continue to slide across rebar, wire rod markets in Southern Europe

Bearish sentiment continued to inhibit market activity in the long steel products across Southern Europe in the week to Wednesday May 24, sources told Fastmarkets.And producers will look to curtail further price drops by cutting production and withdrawing offers from the market, they added.

Rebar
Few trades were reported in the Italian rebar market, with buyers opting to wait for greater clarity on the direction of pricesn before booking any significant volumes, sources said.

Fastmarkets price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Italy was €685-720 ($740-778) per tonne on Wednesday, down by €25-40 per tonne from €725-745 since last week.

“Offers have been reported in Italy at prices as low as €685 per tonne, but there has basically been no business yet as it is too early for June orders and too late for May needs,” a producer source in the region said.

“Demand remains low, and prices have been dropping,” a buyer source said.

A major integrated mill in Italy was said to have announced €665 per tonne as the minimum price it would be willing to offer at, sources said – although this could not be widely confirmed by market participants.  

The market is still digesting new prices for June bookings, sources said, adding that mills were likely to cut production to create resistance to a further price downtrend.

Activity in the Spanish rebar market, meanwhile, remained slow, Fastmarkets understands.

Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered, Spain was €680-720 per tonne on Wednesday, down by €25-45 per tonne from was €725-745 per tonne.

Wire rod
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was €620-640 per tonne on Wednesday, down by €20-30 per tonne from €640-670 per tonne last week.

Southern European wire rod prices have continued to slide amid weak demand and bearish sentiment, but sources said that prices have probably hit a floor and will soon begin to stabilize.

“We are currently in discussions about wire rod prices for June deliveries at around €620 per tonne, but there has been very limited activity,” a producer source said.

Some market participants told Fastmarkets there had been a minor recovery in demand.

“After the huge declines in May, it appears prices are beginning to stabilize and demand seems to be restarting a bit,” a second producer source said.

Raw materials
International prices for steel scrap – the key raw material for all long products in Europe – rose significantly between mid-February and mid-March, after which they began to fall. But prices have started to stabilize in May, sources said.

And Fastmarkets’ daily calculation of the index for steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was $371.29 per tonne on May 24, unchanged week on week.

Published by: India-Inés Levy