After decreasing by €50/mt between early January and mid-February, rebar prices have trended sideways in the Italian domestic market in the past week, at €540-550/mt ex-works. According to local sources, local demand is still very weak, although rumors of price increases by domestic producers have been circulating in the past few days amid a predicted increase in local scrap prices. "A tug of war is going on between steelmakers and scrap suppliers, and we will know how it ends in the coming days," one source commented, though adding that scrap price increases are expected as "demand is good and scrap availability is low, while in Turkey import prices have recorded a significant bounce."
Demand remains the main question mark over rebar prices, as many projects are still at a standstill in the Italian domestic market. Demand is very limited in the export market as well, while, according to a trader, the few export offers by Italian rebar producers are at €480-485/mt FOB.