Despite the negativity that has been present in the market for some time, Romanian long steel suppliers and traders have agreed to maintain prices in line with previous weeks. On the other hand, the ongoing developments in the scrap market and the expected demand rebound after the holiday season provide market participants with optimism that prices will improve in the following weeks. In the meantime, the local long steel supplier and local traders are providing discounts to serious buyers since demand has failed to show any signs of recovery.
Over the past week, Romanian rebar spot prices have mainly remained unchanged from the previous week at around €570-585/mt ex-warehouse. Likewise, Romania’s sole rebar producer has maintained its prices at €605/mt ex-works although, according to sources, for serious customers it is offering at approximately €590/mt ex-works.
In the wire rod segment, where no positive change in demand has been seen, many traders have reaffirmed their prices at around €570-580/mt ex-warehouse with a few traders trying to attract customers’ attention by offering at around €560/mt ex-warehouse.
Furthermore, this week there were some offers in the import segment, although the vast majority of Romanian importers are still not overly eager to replenish stocks. According to reports, Moldova has reduced its rebar offers by €5-10/mt to €600-605/mt CPT. Similarly, Egypt has reduced the prices for wire rod and rebar for October shipment by €10-15/mt to €550-555/mt CFR. Meanwhile, ex-Greece offers have been kept on hold for the time being, due to the scrap price movement.
“Right now, we are avoiding offering anything as scrap prices rise,” a representative of an important Greek exporter told SteelOrbis. However, previous offers for rebar and wire rod were at approximately €615-625/mt CFR and €625-635/mt CFR, respectively.