Although local Italian producers have tried to obtain prices in the range of €490-500/mt ($549-560/mt) ex-works in the last two weeks, transactions have been closed at lower prices, i.e., at €460-470/mt ($515-526/mt) ex-works. This is due to the fact that buyers are not willing to place large orders and activities are slow.
Also, the export market seems to be absent, due to downward expectations in Italian producers' target markets after the decrease in international scrap prices. In particular, US customers expect a further decrease in domestic and import rebar prices as scrap has decreased by $30/mt this month. Currently, Italian rebar export offers are at €460/mt ($515/mt) FOB, stable compared to last week.
As for the coming weeks, market sources do not see any signals of a revival and for this reason they believe Italian steel producers may bring forward their traditional summer stoppages.
€1 = $1.12