During the last two weeks producers have been trying to increase their prices in the European rebar markets. These attempts have been reflected in price lists in some regions, whereas they have remained just rumors in other regions. Low demand has been certainly the main obstacle blocking the increase attempts in question. The principal reasons behind the producers' efforts to raise their prices have been the increases in raw material and semi-finished steel prices and the rising prices of import rebar in some regions.
Accepted price levels in southern Europe's rebar export markets have remained in the range of €320-330/mt. The past week has seen a continuation of the low sales volume to Algeria - the most important market for southern European rebar exports. No change in the demand situation in the local southern European markets was observed in the last week, with stockists (whose stocks have been indicating a decline) and trading firms continuing their purchase activity, depending on their stock levels. End-user demand has still not been at desired levels.
In Eastern Europe, in Bulgaria and Romania in particular, producers have increased their local market prices mostly due to the uptrend in import levels. On the other hand, producers' list prices still show variety depending on tonnage and payment terms.
In general, weak end-user demand still remains the most significant problem in the European rebar markets . As the producers maintain their attempts to increase their prices, reaction on the demand side to these attempts continues to give shape to the market.