Following the long Christmas holidays, the Romanian long steel market has returned with both the sole producer and local traders raising their offer levels, partly in response to the CBAM-related cost environment. However, the upward price adjustment has not been supported by stronger buying interest, as demand has remained subdued. Market participants report that many buyers are still acting cautiously, placing only limited orders to cover immediate needs rather than building up inventories. As a result, although price levels have increased, the lack of sufficient demand support has prevented the market from gaining real momentum. Moreover, despite the general upward movement, some traders seeking to stimulate sales have offered discounts to serious buyers for larger-volume purchases.
In the rebar segment, the country’s sole producer has raised its rebar offer levels to €600-610/mt ex-works, up from €570-575/mt ex-works prior to the holiday period. At the same time, traders’ offers have also moved higher, with rebar now quoted at €590-615/mt ex-warehouse, compared with €580-605/mt ex-warehouse previously.
Similarly, the wire rod market has also seen higher prices, with trader offers reported at €585-600/mt ex-warehouse, up from €575-585/mt ex-warehouse before the holiday break.
On the import side, some upward movement has also started to emerge from EU suppliers over the past period, as the impact of CBAM has begun to be reflected in pricing strategies. However, according to market sources, buyer acceptance of these higher levels has been limited and slow. Bulgarian suppliers, which had offered rebar at €610-620/mt CPT before Christmas, have raised their offers to €615-620/mt CPT. In addition, Greek suppliers have quoted rebar at €585-590/mt CFR and wire rod at €595-620/mt CFR to Romania. Meanwhile, among non-EU suppliers, Egyptian mills have kept their offers unchanged, with rebar still quoted at €490-495/mt CFR and wire rod at €495-500/mt CFR, in line with the previous week. In contrast, supported by firmer scrap prices over the past week, Turkish suppliers have increased their quotations by around €10/mt, offering rebar at €495-520/mt CFR, based on an exchange rate of €1 = $1.16 and estimated freight costs of €15-20/mt.
