Domestic rebar prices in Italy have trended sideways in the past week at €505-515/mt ($596-608/mt) ex-works. Sources told SteelOrbis that local demand is still weak, but that this should be considered as normal as winter is approaching. Meanwhile, local buyers are unwilling to replenish their rebar stocks at current price levels. On the other hand, producers are not keen to lower their prices because both their supplies and customers' stocks are at low levels. Moreover, producers are not in a hurry to sell because they are already well covered with orders.
On the export side, the latest sales by Italian rebar producers have been made at around €485/mt ($572/mt) FOB. As for the Algerian market, the main Italian export market, Italian producers are not accepting any more orders for this year. Meanwhile, conflicting reports are coming concerning the deadline of import rebar licenses in Algeria - some sources say that they will expire on 31.12.2017, while others say they will expire on 28.02.2018. Meanwhile, a few Algerian traders have already asked Italian producers for rebar volumes to be delivered in January, but this is not indicative of the import rebar license expiry date, as even this year traders bought products before any announcement was made by the Algerian government.
€1 = $1.18