Following the Easter break in Romania, the market has remained quiet, with offers stable over the past week. Although some firms are still on holiday and the market is predicted to see more precise figures in the coming week, some market participants feel that prices may fall next week due to the current sluggishness in demand as well as the significant decreases in global scrap prices. Meanwhile, according to sources, the sole rebar producer is going to stop production in the coming days due to scheduled repair works over the next two months.
Currently, rebar pricing from the sole domestic mill is stable at roughly €590-605/mt ex-works. Similarly, local Romanian rebar spot prices have remained stable, at €610-620/mt ex-warehouse from last week.
A similar stability has been observed in the wire rod segment, with retail prices quoted stable week on week at €580-595/mt ex-warehouse.
In the import market, meanwhile, there has been a similar lack of activity since the Easter weekend. As a result, most offers have remained unchanged, with no new purchases concluded since last week. According to sources, ex-Bulgaria rebar offers have remained unchanged since last week, at around €620-640/mt CPT. In addition, ex-Egypt offers for rebar and wire rod have remained stable week on week at €550-555/mt CPT and €560-565/mt CPT, respectively. However, due to considerable drops in scrap prices, Turkish rebar offers to Romania at a €1 = $1.14 exchange rate and with freight costs of €25-30/mt have dropped by €10-20/mt to €500-510/mt CFR since last week. Furthermore, according to reports, Romanian purchasers closed the last deal with Turkey in the second part of April, for around 40,000 mt of rebar at $540-550/mt FOB.
