Offers for rebar in Germany’s market are being heard at €810-820/mt CPT for October production with delivery in November, sources tell SteelOrbis. Despite some market players talking about a potential softening in rebar prices for the coming months, sources are labelling this “wishful thinking”.
Indeed, taking into account traditional price trends in the period before the Christmas holiday season, a potential downturn might happen in the fourth quarter. However, some sources expect prices to remain relatively stable or upward due to logistics and production costs.
The increased cost of petrol and the reduced number of available drivers are making transport by truck more expensive, boosting prices for rebar. At the same time, mills are experiencing an increase in energy costs, of up to €50-70/mt, “an enormous amount of money which has to be passed to the market,” sources say.
Overall, the market is in a fairly good condition. After a couple of months when stocks were lacking, the situation now is much better and may also benefit from a short-term decrease in demand during winter. Moreover, demand is looking promising when considering early 2022 due to the investments that will be made possible by the EU’s Covid relief package. Sources expects major investment will target infrastructure and construction, which will definitely boost demand