In the Italian domestic market, the downtrend in rebar prices has continued for the fifth week in a row. According to the survey of the market carried out by SteelOrbis, in the past week rebar prices in Italy have declined by €10/mt ($13/mt) to €458/mt ($591/mt) ex-works for 14-26 mm diameters. Market insiders state that rebar producers are split into two: on one hand there are those who do not want to cut their offers any further despite the risk of losing competitiveness, while on the other hand some producers are giving discounts of €5-10/mt ($6-13/mt) compared to their official prices in order to attract new orders.
Meanwhile, the global raw material markets are facing difficulties and therefore - according to market operators consulted by SteelOrbis - scrap purchase prices paid by steel mills could post further reductions.
Algeria provides the only postive news in terms of demand. Italian rebar producers have filled their October order books some day later than usual, with the latest contracts inked at €465/mt ($600/mt) FOB, down €10/mt ($13/mt) compared to the previous week. Some producers have received orders at lower levels. For now, the euro/dollar exchange rate is close to 1.30, making the Italian and European offers competitive compared to the Turkish ones.
€1 = $1.29