Since there are ongoing local financial difficulties and the absence of any noteworthy shifts in the market outlook, this week Romanian long steel traders as well as the sole rebar manufacturer have chosen to keep their offers largely similar to the offers made last week. Although bigger traders had witnessed some improvement in domestic demand in the past and anticipated that trend would continue, companies reported this week that business activities have remained fixed, although with low-end sales.
Consequently, the sole rebar producer has persisted in giving offers at €620/mt ex-works, comparable to the previous week. Similarly, most traders have kept their rebar pricing stable at €610-635/mt ex-warehouse.
While the majority of traders in the wire rod segment have continued to keep offers stable because of low demand, other traders have decided to offer higher levels, at about €630/mt ex-warehouse, which is not feasible given the present workable levels. Accordingly, current workable offers in the Romanian wire rod market have been quoted at €610-615/mt ex-warehouse, the same as last week.
In the meantime, following a deal made with Turkish suppliers, no trades have been heard since there is less activity in the local Romanian market and so no need for traders to replenish. However, offers have been received, with the majority of them unchanged. Suppliers from Moldova and Bulgaria are still offering the same prices for rebar as they were last week at €610-620/mt CPT and €650-670/mt CPT, respectively. Similarly, Egypt has kept its rebar and wire rod prices at €595/mt CFR and €605/mt CFR, respectively. Additionally, Greece has kept its prices for wire rod and rebar at €665/mt CFR and €645/mt CFR, respectively. In contrast, the average price of rebar ex-Turkey to Romania has increased by €5/mt to €590-610/mt CFR, with an exchange rate of €1 = $1.07 and freight costs of around €25-30/mt.