Until a couple of days ago, local rebar producers in the Italian domestic market were trying with difficulty to keep their prices at €460/mt ($598/mt) ex-works. Due to low demand, offers below €450/mt ($585/mt) were reported and in some cases prices even dropped to €440/mt. Such corrections, however, did not stimulate any increase in purchasing activity.
Given the impossibility of continuing under these conditions, in the last two days some local producers decided to raise prices to a minimum of €470/mt ($611/mt) ex-works, with peaks of €480-490/mt ($624-637/mt). Accordingly, there are attempts to increase local prices at least by €20/mt in preparation for May: April may be considered to be over already as local producers will be closed in the week between April 25 and May 1 due to domestic holidays. Of course it remains to be seen if rebar prices will remain at these levels.
Meanwhile, the export market is giving greater satisfaction compared to the domestic market, but even abroad the situation is not particularly bright. There have been orders to Algeria concluded at €460-465/mt ($598-605/mt) FOB, but at the moment, rather than by the arrival of large volumes of materials at the ports, market players are concerned about the confusion surrounding new import rules. Anyway, as reported by operators consulted by SteelOrbis, Algerian buyers are expected to conclude purchases in the coming period, with the next few months expected to be characterized by the resumption of construction activity, which will stop in July for Ramadan.
€1= $1.30