After a one-week break, German rebar prices have again started to increase due to still strong demand. According to sources, it is no longer possible to order rebar for July production in the country and prices have increased by €20/mt for August rolling to €870-900/mt ex-works. Despite the record high prices, there is no slowdown in buyers' demand for rebar. The most important reason for this situation is the desire to complete many projects before the upcoming summer vacation, as many projects were previously delayed due to Covid-19 measures. In addition, considering that many steel producers will cut their production in order to carry out their annual maintenance works in August, it is seen that buyers have accepted the new price levels and have continued their purchases in order to avoid any material availability problems.
"There are many projects in the market right now and end-user demand is very good. Although it is sometimes mentioned that prices are at very high levels, no one has any hesitation about buying because they think they can sell at the current price levels. The most important reason for this is that many new projects will start after the summer vacation. Although a slowdown in demand is expected due to the summer holidays and annual maintenance works in August, we believe that prices will be higher than €900/mt due to the current market outlook and positive expectations," a trader told SteelOrbis.
On the export side, demand is strong, but new export offers have not been heard in the past two weeks as sellers prefer to offer to their local buyers. Since importing from destinations outside the European Union continues to be problematic due to the ongoing quota application in Europe, German traders continue to sell to their local market, which is more advantageous.