German rebar has remained positive in terms of business activity and overall end-user demand, which became a solid reason for the local suppliers to increase their prices. Over the past two weeks the domestic rebar offers have gone up by €50/mt to €850-880/mt ex-works.
End-users have been active in restocking due to the sufficient amount of the construction projects. Moreover, the increased price levels have been accepted rather quickly, taking into account that the allocation for July is limited and the mills have started offering for August production. In addition, the EU has recently held the vote regarding the safeguard measures and decided to extend them, although the official announcement is yet to be published. In this outlook, the local buyers are more worried about the potential lack of supply rather than the high prices from the local producers. Moreover, the rebar prices might rise further before the summer holiday due to good demand and strong scrap, SteelOrbis understands.
"Demand is strong, raw material prices are also high and market availability is tight. We are now seeing perfect market conditions. Buyers do not hesitate to buy with higher prices because at least until August they expect good end-user demand. Also we are expecting to see a good market after the summer holiday," a trader told SteelOrbis.
On the export side demand is also good but offers are limited, because traders and producers are mainly focusing on their domestic market. Export prices are €850-860/mt FOB, as SteelOrbis heard.