The offers in southern European longs market remain stable week-on-week, but there is a lot of uncertainty about the prospects, which are not very optimistic for everyone. General confusion also persists in the raw material market, causing challenges for producers in outlining future strategies.
In the local rebar market in Italy, similar to last week, concluded orders have been reported at €350-360/mt ex-works (€615-625/mt ex-works including regular extras). A climate of cautiousness prevails in the pricing trends, which, according to various sources, are expected to remain mostly stable at the beginning of February.
Italian local wire rod prices have also remained stable week-on-week at around €680-690/mt delivered. Similar levels are reported in Eastern Europe, where mesh quality wire rod offers have been reported at €660-670/mt delivered, while drawing quality wire rod offers at €680-690/mt delivered. In France and Benelux, the offers have been reported at €660/mt and €675/mt delivered, respectively, while lower levels have been reported in Spain and Portugal: €650/mt and €670/mt delivered, respectively.
Regarding exports, ex-Italy rebar offers have been at €610-620/mt FOB, compared to the €615-625/mt FOB reported last week. Ex-Greece offers, according to sources, have been reported stable at €650/mt FOB for rebar and €640/mt FOB for wire rod. Ex-Spain rebar offers have been reported as slightly decreasing (by €10/mt) to €600/mt FOB.
Import offers, on the other hand, have been reported to decrease by approximately €10/mt week-on-week from Turkey: they have been stated at €590-600/mt CFR Southern Europe for rebar and €600-610/mt CFR for wire rod. Ex-Egypt wire rod offers have been reported at around €590/mt CFR, stable week-on-week. New wire rod offers have been reported from Asia at around €590/mt CFR from Vietnam and €560-570/mt CFR from Malaysia and Indonesia.