Germany-based rebar producers have managed to keep their domestic offers stable over the past two weeks, supported by relatively sufficient levels of demand. The local prices are still at €470-490/mt ex-works. Sources assume it would be hard for the mills to increase their prices, taking into account the rising number of Covid-19 cases and the uncertain market prospects as the holiday season gets closer. "Everyone wants to complete their projects as soon as possible because Covid-related restrictions have been tightened and many believe more measures are on the way. On the other hand, this outlook helps demand to stay high but limits prices. Buyers do not accept any price increase because they know any lockdown would change the market outlook to negative very rapidly," a producer told SteelOrbis.
Due to sufficient local demand, the rebar export market is not very active. German exporters offer €460-465/mt CPT to Austria and Poland for November deliveries, but buyers expect discounts. "At the moment, it is possible to sell to the local markets at higher prices but we cannot say German exporters do not bother to export. Amid the second wave of Covid-19 in Europe, they want to sell as much as they can. It is a matter of capacity and we can say that rebar producers are working at full capacity in Germany. Of course, current export prices are not attractive to buyers, but there is no reason to give discounts at the moment," an exporter told SteelOrbis.