The situation remains almost unchanged in the southern European longs market, which is gearing up for the holidays, production shutdowns and various year-end closures.
In Italy, over the past week producers’ offers for rebar have hovered at around €320/mt ex-works base (€585/mt ex-works including regular extras), confirming the price increase attempts seen in recent weeks and lifting the price range by approximately €10-20/mt compared to November. According to some sources, further increases in offers may occur despite the generally modest demand. “Customers are buying only the bare minimum to cover the holiday period, postponing any purchases until January,” commented an Italian source.
Ex-Greece offers have remained largely stable at €600/mt FOB for rebar (up slightly from €595/mt FOB last week) and €590/mt FOB for wire rod (unchanged from last week).
In the import segment, rebar offers from Turkey continue at €565-575/mt CFR southern Europe, while Turkish wire rod offers have edged up slightly to €575-585/mt CFR, compared to €570-580/mt CFR last week. Offers from Egypt stand at €565-575/mt CFR for both rebar and wire rod, while offers from Indonesia for wire rod are at around €530-540/mt CFR.