Following the Romanian presidential election which caused currency fluctuations and market uncertainty, the majority of long steel traders and the sole domestic rebar producer have decided to hold offers unchanged compared to last week and to just monitor the market. However, given the changes in currency rates, many participants believe that some upward adjustments in long steel prices may occur. Meanwhile, some suppliers believe that, owing to the ongoing weaker demand, price adjustments may not be supported by buyers.
“Romania's unstable political situation has resulted in extremely low sales this week. Following the first round results, the euro and US dollar exchange rates will be updated for pricing in lei, and long steel prices will be adjusted in the coming days to reflect the new exchange rate. Considering the low sales volumes and the unstable political climate, I personally believe that neither price rises nor even customer acceptance of such levels are likely,” a trader said SteelOrbis
As a result, the sole local producer's rebar pricing is unchanged week on week at €590-605/mt ex-works. Similarly, the retail prices of rebar in Romania are stable at €610-620/mt ex-warehouse since last week.
In the wire rod segment, a similar scenario has occurred due to the current uncertainty. The majority of traders offered wire rod prices at unchanged levels of €580-595/mt ex-warehouse.
Meanwhile, as regards imports, Bulgarian suppliers have reduced rebar offers by €10/mt to €610-630/mt CPT, while ex-Egypt rebar and wire rod prices remain stable from the previous week at €530-535/mt CPT and €535-540/mt CPT, respectively. In contrast, ex-Turkey offers have increased as mills' export offers have been quoted at $540-550/mt FOB, and, with the current currency rate of €1 = $1.13, prices for delivery to Romania are now at €505-515/mt CFR, up from €495-515/mt CFR last week.