Southern European longs market remains weak

Friday, 23 February 2024 16:31:03 (GMT+3)   |   Brescia
       

Few reports have surfaced during the week in the southern European longs market, which appears largely stable with subdued activity, especially for rebar in Italy where buyers continue to exert downward pressure.

Indeed, in the local Italian rebar segment, producers are striving to maintain prices at around €350/mt ex-works base (€615/mt ex-works including regular extras) again this week, as they did last week. However, as previously noted, buyers are seeking around €20/mt less, and, according to sources, some producers are beginning to accommodate them, resulting in a range of offers at €330-350/mt ex-works base (€595-615/mt ex-works including regular extras). Overall, an atmosphere of uncertainty prevails with limited production which is still outpacing demand. The relatively low costs of energy and scrap currently allow offers to be maintained at these levels: "We all have little material. So, as soon as demand increases a little, costs will also rise, and thus prices, or at least I hope so," commented an Italian producer.

Regarding drawing quality wire rod, local offers in Italy have been reported stable week on week at around €680-690/mt delivered, though some argue they could undergo a downward correction of approximately €10/mt due to the availability of material. However, in Spain, local mesh quality wire rod local offers are decreasing and, according to a source, they have now settled at around €630/mt delivered (with potential discounts for firm bids), compared to offers of €635-€640/mt delivered reported at the beginning of the month.

Ex-Italy export offers have also been reported at stable levels, at €610-615/mt FOB for rebar, with demand remaining weak. According to some sources, demand from eastern Europe and Germany is better, where more volumes can be sold.

Finally, concerning imports, some potentially competitive offers have been reported this week. Ex-Egypt wire rod offers have been reported in the range of €575-585/mt CFR southern Europe, down by €10/mt compared to two weeks ago. Ex-Turkey rebar offers have been reported stable week on week at €590-600/mt CFR, for shipments scheduled for March and early April, while wire rod offers have seen a decrease of around €5/mt compared to last week, now settling at €605-615/mt CFR. Finally, ex-Asia wire rod offers have been reported from Indonesia at around €560/mt CFR and from Vietnam at €585/mt CFR.


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