There is little change in the southern European longs market, where demand is limited and prices struggle to gain momentum. According to some sources, the market may have reached the bottom - or is close to it - and others are already mentioning potential stoppages at steel mills.
In the local rebar segment in Italy, sales are weak and barely sufficient: some producers are trying to keep their offers at around €310-320/mt ex-works base (€575-585/mt ex-works including regular extras), while others are offering discounts down to €280-290/mt ex-works base (€545-555/mt ex-works including regular extras) to close orders quickly. The average tradable price has been reported stable week on week, at about €300/mt ex-works base (€565/mt ex-works including regular extras). “A price increase was announced, but it hasn’t materialized,” noted an Italian source. Steel mills are starting to talk about various stoppages: “However, when we stop, we are no longer flexible on prices,” another source added.
Slightly lower export offers have been reported this week: ex-Italy rebar has been offered at €565-570/mt FOB by sea, compared to the €570-580/mt FOB range seen last week. Ex-Spain rebar offers have dropped by €10/mt, now at €590/mt CIF, corresponding to about €560/mt FOB. Additionally, ex-Spain rebar in coils has been offered at €620/mt CIF, i.e., around €590/mt FOB.
On the other hand, a slight increase in dollar terms was noted for import offers from Turkey. However, due to the euro-dollar exchange rate fluctuations, prices remain stable in euro terms. Rebar has been priced at €550-555/mt CFR southern Europe (compared to €550-560/mt CFR the previous week), and wire rod at €560-565/mt CFR (down from €560-570/mt CFR last week). Ex-Egypt wire rod offers have been reported at €530-540/mt CFR, the same levels as last week.