The European longs market has remained mostly calm and lacking momentum this week. Sentiment has been particularly affected by the absence of updates regarding the new country-specific safeguard quotas, which, according to some rumors, will be published definitively on June 30, just one day before they come into force.
As far as domestic markets are concerned, prices for rebar and wire rod in Italy stand at €435-440/mt ex-works base (€695-700/mt ex-works including regular extras) and €695-710/mt delivered, respectively. In Germany, the market appears to be characterized by weak demand and substantial price stability, with rebar at €680/mt ex-works and wire rod at €685-700/mt delivered. Market players continue to report high stock levels and widespread caution.
In Poland, the stock situation is also the same as in the rest of Europe, but it seems that prices may see a slight upward push. After a period of low activity, in fact, mills seem willing to attempt a consolidation of margins to offset high costs, though the actual success of this strategy remains to be monitored. Meanwhile, rebar prices have been reported at around €642/mt ex-works, while wire rod prices have been reported at €690-710/mt delivered.
In Spain, the market “has several similarities with the Italian market”, a source said, with stable demand and regular activity. Unlike Italy, however, prices are reported at much higher levels.
In export markets, offers from Spain to UK ports have been reported at €670/mt FOB for rebar, while price levels from Greece have been reported at €630-635/mt FOB for rebar and €640-645/mt FOB for wire rod.
On the import side, the market is being held back by the lack of clarity regarding safeguard quotas, though offers have been heard from Turkey and Egypt. In the first case, rebar stands at €555-565/mt CFR and wire rod at €560-570/mt CFR. In the second case, rebar has been reported at €550-565/mt CFR and wire rod at €565-570/mt CFR. Price increases of around €5-10/mt have been recorded compared to the levels reported last week, partly as a result of the variation in the euro-dollar exchange rate which moved from 1.15 on June 18 to 1.13 on June 25, according to European Central Bank data. The mentioned offers refer to shipments in late July and August.
€1 = $ 1.13
€1 = PLN 4.29
