As reported previously, Italian rebar producers increased their domestic offers early last week after some weeks during which transaction prices had been decreasing to close to €360/mt ex-works due to weak demand. According to sources, currently they are offering rebar at around €390/mt ex-works, claiming they have sufficient orders after reducing their production. However, this new level has to be absorbed yet. Meanwhile, producers are delivering orders that were closed previously at lower prices.
As for the export markets, SteelOrbis has learned that recently an Italian long steel producer closed a sale to Canada at a price of €385-390/mt FOB, for delivery in July. Meanwhile, Algerian customers are now asking for a price of €395/mt CFR, which is still too low for Italian exporters to lead to transactions. Meanwhile, domestic wire rod prices have been decreasing slightly during the past three weeks, from €440-450/mt to €440/mt, both for delivery to customer, while wire rod exports are non-existent at the moment, according to one Italian producer. Market sources have said that overall Italian long steel sales in the domestic market are at good levels, especially compared to flat steel sales, thanks to the relatively better performance of the construction sector compared to other end-user industries. However, producers are complaining about low margins, especially since scrap prices are still fairly strong and they fear they may increase slightly in the coming weeks. For this reason, they may try to increase their finished steel prices in the short term, according to market sources.