Romania’s long steel market has moved upward this week, with prices increasing mainly on the traders’ side, while the sole domestic producer has kept its price levels stable.
However, expectations for a potential price increase from the producer and ongoing rumors of higher targeted levels have continued to support overall market sentiment. Rising production costs, particularly higher energy prices, along with the continued upward trend in EU prices and firmer import offers, have further reinforced the upward direction. Despite ongoing liquidity constraints and cautious purchasing behavior, demand has remained acceptable, allowing traders to test higher levels. In the rebar segment, stock levels are still considered sufficient, which has somewhat limited the pace of increases compared to other long products, though some purchases from Italy and Bulgaria have also been heard during the week. However, in the wire rod segment, price rises have been more pronounced, mainly due to significantly lower stock availability, with sources noting that this tighter supply has even led to some purchases from Greece.
According to market reports over the past week, rebar sales from Italy and Bulgaria have been concluded at around €600/mt FCA and €630/mt CPT, respectively. Meanwhile, Bulgarian offers have moved upward following renewed interest, increasing to €630-640/mt CPT compared to the previous week. In the wire rod segment, some purchases have also been heard from Greece, at around €620/mt FCA. On the other hand, no purchases have been heard from non-EU suppliers. An Egyptian mill has significantly increased its offers amid rising freight costs, with April shipment rebar quoted at €555-560/mt CFR and wire rod at €565-570/mt CFR, compared to €530/mt CFR and €540/mt CFR previously. Turkish suppliers have also raised their rebar offers to €535-550/mt CFR, from €500-520/mt CFR earlier, based on an exchange rate of €1 = $1.15 and estimated freight costs of €25-30/mt, up from €15-20/mt in previous weeks.
In the local market, Romanian spot rebar prices are now reported at €600-615/mt ex-warehouse, compared to €590-600/mt ex-warehouse in the previous week. The domestic producer’s latest indications remain at €590-595/mt ex-works, while higher price ideas of €600-605/mt ex-works are still being tested in the market, though not confirmed by the time of publication. In the wire rod segment, offers have increased more sharply, to €620-630/mt ex-warehouse, rising significantly from €585-590/mt ex-warehouse in the previous week, mainly due to limited stock availability.
