Strong domestic rebar demand has resulted in another price increase in the Polish market over the past two weeks. Stocks have remained generally low, while offer prices are at PLN 2,980-3,050/mt (€655-671/mt) ex-works for March production, increasing by PLN 300/mt (€66/mt) over the mentioned period. But buyers have started to question current price levels since the beginning of this week due to lower scrap prices. "Demand is slowing down and buyers now hesitate to buy at the new price levels, because they are not sure if prices will maintain their levels until March. Lower scrap prices always mean lower rebar prices and most market players believe rebar prices will also decline because scrap prices have declined by approximately $60/mt since last week," a trader told SteelOrbis. On the other hand, producers are satisfied with their sales and some of them are even targeting higher levels for their March sales, thinking the downtrend in the scrap market will not last long. Buyers, however, consider the current price levels to be on the high side at the moment.
In the import segment, offers from Germany have been heard in the market since last week at €660-670/mt CPT for February deliveries. Offers from Italy have been heard at €640-660/mt CPT for February deliveries.
Prices exclude 23 percent VAT.
PLN 1 = €0.22