Despite the local market being badly hit by the approaching winter weather and the lack of demand, Romanian-based traders have continued to favor ex-Turkey rebar and have purchased a substantial amount for restocking. Meanwhile, given the trend of long prices in Europe supported by the strong scrap market, Romania's single rebar producer and local traders have had not much option but to retain their previous domestic prices. While import offers remain appealing for Romanian traders, considering the local market's poor outlook and the impending holiday season, it may be expected that in the coming weeks import volumes will be present, though in smaller tonnages.
“The market is sluggish and under pressure, but it is still working. The fundamental issue is that demand is down much further due to seasonal factors, while supply is higher due to massive imports coming in these days,” a larger trader told SteelOrbis.
Regarding imports, sources state that last week ex-Turkey sold some decent quantities to Romania at $580-585/mt FOB which is approximately €555-565/mt CFR. Currently, with offers from Turkey based on mills′ prices of $580-590/mt FOB and freight rates of $25-30/mt, the levels should be at about €555-570/mt CFR at the current €1 = $1.09 exchange rate.
The closest prices to these rates are from Egypt, which has continued to provide Romania with both rebar and wire rod offers at €565-575/mt CFR. While Moldova has chosen to raise rebar offers to €620/mt CPT from €600/mt CPT, Bulgaria has remained silent on offers. Similarly, Greece, which has been absent from offering to Romania for some time, has boosted its rebar and wire rod offers to €625-650/mt CFR and €625-640/mt CFR, respectively.
On the other hand, in the domestic market offers from Romania's local rebar producer are stable week on week at around €600-605/mt ex-work. Similarly, retail rebar prices are also stable week on week at €570-585/mt ex-warehouse.
A similar scenario has been observed in the wire rod category, where the majority of traders have maintained their offers around €570-590/mt ex-warehouse, as the gloomy outlook has persisted.