Domestic
merchant bar prices in
Italy have decreased by €10/mt during the past month. The market is still very confused because of the unsettled trend of local scrap prices, which had decreased significantly at the beginning of February and are now trending upwards. This situation has forced buyers in the local Italian
merchant bar market to maintain a wait-and-see stance for now.
A change may be seen in the market situation in the coming period. Amid the recent rises in international prices of raw materials and steel products - especially in prices of billet coming from China and the CIS - Italian steel group Beltrame, which is the leader in the European
merchant bar market, told SteelOrbis today, February 16, that it will increase its
merchant bar prices "very soon". The producer did not disclose the exact size of the impending increase, but said that it will amount to at least €20/mt.
Currently, base prices of domestic
merchant bar in
Italy are at €50-60/mt ($53-64/mt) ex-works, while for the export market the reference price is about €70/mt ($74/mt) delivered.
*In the Italian market, price extras can vary in the range of €410-610/mt ($435-647/mt) for domestic sales and in the range of €410-620/mt ($435-657/mt) for foreign markets, depending on dimension and product.
€1 = $1.06